The Adventures of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

A BAR IN THE SLUMS OF CANTERLOT

“I’LL FUCKING GUT YOU BITCH!” A thug yelled as he lunged at me wielding a hunting knife. I quickly hopped onto the pool table behind me and bucked him in the face with both legs. Both heels of my boots crashed into the sides of his face, causing him to fly into a nearby wooden table, dislodging a couple teeth in the process. I barely had time to regain my composure when I suddenly yelled out in pain as I felt a pool stick being cracked over my back from behind. The stick broke in half, and the top part went flying across the room. Suddenly another thug ran up to me wielding a crowbar. I ignored the pain, and despite my body telling me to shut down, I had to act quickly. As he was right under me, I grasped a chunk of his hair with my hand and smashed his skull onto the edge of the pool table, leaving a trail of blood to splatter onto the green cloth as I let him go. With my other hand, I grabbed a nearby pool ball, and then with one swift motion, hurled it at the guy behind me who hit me with a pool stick. The red striped ball smashed against the bridge of his nose, and an audibly loud crack echoed across the bar as he dropped the bottom half of the broken pool stick, and he clenched both hands on his bloody, broken nose before falling to the ground.

Trying to catch my breath, I stood up, still on top of the table. The bar around me had been a complete wreck, as unconscious and bloodied members of the changeling gang littered the floor. All that remained was one more member, cowering in a corner with a knife clenched in his hands, shakily pointing the tip towards me. I took a deep breath before hoping off the table. The purple cloak around me draped off my shoulders and concealed my body, and like a ghost, I hovered over to him.

“Get the fuck away from me,” he whimpered. While still on the floor, he attempted to plunge the knife into my leg, but I gave a swift kick to his hand and the knife flew out of his grip. He yelped in pain, and tried to comfort his hand, but I stomped on it, violently pinning it to the ground between the heel of my boot. He attempted to cry out, but with my other leg, I kneeled down onto his chest, putting all my weight on top of him while I kept his hand still pinned down with my other leg. He tried to punch me with his free arm, but I grabbed his hand and began bending his fingers in the opposite direction one by one. The pops that his dislocated bones were making accompanied by his screams sent a shiver down my spine. It was never my idea to be to cruel towards criminals, but after spending the past forty minutes fighting a bar full of eight grown men affiliated with the changeling gang, my patience was wearing thin.

The Changelings were a gang that dominated the western hemisphere of the country. They were an odd bunch, as from what I heard, their gang was almost cult like. They all wore the same black leather jackets, black cargo pants and all had a greyish skin tone. What was really peculiar however were their eyes. All of them had dark blue eyes. Tonight was the first time I ever encountered the gang, as they like to nestle themselves deep into the slums of Canterlot. I had heard that they mainly isolated themselves in the sewers. A ridiculous rumor I had initially thought, but the putrid smell of shit that irradiated off them was enough for me to consider that possibility as true. The reason why I had gone after them is because the intel I’ve gotten from Gary revealed the gang to be the primary delivery boys for the imported crystal drugs. Though admittedly, this was a group I had preferred to stay away from. If there was any correlation to the changeling species I had read about back in Equestria, then this was a group I’d prefer to not be at odds with. But I suppose that’s a fool’s wish given the nature of this little game of mine.

“You scumbags are picking up trash for Sombra. Where?” I demanded, trying my best to use the ghostly voice I had been practicing. The man kept his lips shut but didn’t deny anything. The frustration began to build in me, and I pierced my knee deeper into his chest, and began wailing at his face violently. His blood was splattering all over me, mixing with the blood of others that had stained my costume. Although that’s just what I choose to believe. In truth I couldn’t tell if the blood was there’s or mine. In all Likelihood it was probably a blend of both.

After a good five to seven punches, I ceased up and slightly took some pressure off his chest, allowing him to take a deep gasp of air.

“Okay, okay. Just stop, please. We pick it up from the sewers. At the North dam entrance outside of Canterlot.” He confessed. I took a fistful of his hair, and brought his face closer to me, cocking my fist back in a threatening manner.

“When?” I demanded. But before he could answer the unthinkable had occurred. Without a moment’s notice a loud bang echoed from outside the bar, and suddenly the side of the man’s head erupted, and blood and chunks of flesh began pouring out the other side of his head like a volcano, dripping down onto my glove. His body then felt limp in my clutches. My eyes were wide in horror, as this was the first time I’ve ever seen a dead body so close. I had figured at some point the horrors of death would plague me the longer I continued this, but it was never something you could prepare for. The loss of life being so instant would haunt me. But I wasn’t given the opportunity to process what I had just seen, as no sooner than a second was a barrage of gunfire blasting through the windows and door. A bullet grazed my wrist, causing me to instantly drop the corpse from my clutches.

Quickly, I leaped over the bar, and took cover from the hailstorm of bullets. Throughout my time in this world, I’ve gotten to know many of humans’ technological feats. It was something that I was in utter awe by. For you see, they didn’t possess magic, the foundation of life in Equestria. They didn’t have wings like Pegasi or the natural strength of earth ponies. Nor did they have the magical properties of our world. In all honesty, being a human has its disadvantages. They were a rather fragile species physically, possessing no real power in their natural forms. When I arrived here, I still possessed the knowledge and skills of fighting I had learned from the head Royal Guard back in Equestria. But the sudden transformation to a human made it a little difficult to utilize. I came here almost two years ago, and I had to train my body to be as good as my equestrian counterpart during that time.

My point is humans rely on technology and science to accomplish the feats that we’re able to. I’ve managed to study so many wonders of humanity. But none have shaken me to the bone like the weapons they’ve crafted. We had blades and swords in Equestria, but magic, flight and strength were always the weapons we used. But the humans had many items they utilized as weaponry in replacement for our feats. But one stuck out to me the most. Arguably the most dangerous and terrifying thing I’ve ever witnessed. Something that rivals our world. An invention that could put the fear of Celestia in anyone. A weapon of great power, influence and fear.

I’m talking of course about guns.

When I first started attending classes, I was always eager to obtain knowledge of history. When I was under Princess Celestia’s wing back at Canterlot, I was quite the scholar much to the same fashion as Twilight. Magic, the arts, combat and especially history. So, I was always excited to learn about this worlds historical events that have shaped their modern society. But I didn’t realize how awful it could be. More specifically with how this world handled armed conflicts. Equestria is no stranger to mass warfare. The Great Equestrian Civil War between the earth ponies, unicorns and Pegasi. The changeling wars. Both major Equestiran wars were between the poines, griffons, bison’s and dragons. All the way to the two most recent wars which were the war of King Sombra, and the second Equestrian Civil war against Nightmare Moon.

But warfare was a rare occurrence. The war with Nightmare Moon ended over a thousand years ago, and we’ve never had a major conflict since then. But for humans, war seemed like a constant occurrence, and the primary weapon of choice after the age of explosives were guns. These lessons always awed me with their weaponry, but at the time I didn’t think much of it. To me, guns were a mere child’s play compared to the great power of Equestrian Magic, and even afterwards, I still believe that holds some merit. But I never realized how terrifying they could be until I encountered one. Guns are practically nonexistent in the suburbs of Canterlot, so I never saw one until my first night as the Mare-Do-Well. I had encountered a group of drug dealers, and they pulled out the usual knives, chains and pipes, but during the fight one of them pulled out a snub-nosed revolver and began firing at me. He ended up hitting one of his friends on the leg, and just like that, the fight was over. They had all ran saved for the one who had a bullet in him.

But the sound was something that pierced my eardrums, and the instantaneous effect was something I was still shocked by. Occasionally, throughout the following weeks a gun would be pulled out every now and then. But nothing like this. The continuous firing from what I assumed were machine guns lit the bar up like a Christmas tree. Killing everything in its path with no care. Whoever it was that was outside, they clearly sought death, and didn’t care who came in its way.

After what felt like minutes the firing halted followed by the collective sounds of guns being reloaded. I kneeled by the corner of the bar, trying to get a peak of my assailants outside. Through the torn-up windows, I could see trucks and multiple changeling gang members armed with what looked like AK-47s. The sound of a megaphone ripped through the air, and someone’s voice spoke.

“WE KNOW YA IN THERE YA CAPED FREAK. IF YA STILL ALIVE, YA HAVE TO THE COUNT OF TEN TO EXIT THE AREA AND SURRENDER YA’SELF TO THE CHANGILINGS. IF NOT, WE’RE GONA LIGHT THIS MOTHERFUCKA’ UP LIKE THE 4TH OF JULY!” the voice declared. I looked around my surroundings, desperately searching for a way to escape the pickle I found myself in. I knew the only way was through the front door. Unfortunately, the bar I was in had a similar structure to the Destination Dead End, in that the bar was on the first floor of a skyscraper wedged at the end of an alley. In other words, it appeared I was screwed.

As the man on the megaphone began counting down, my eyes darted around every direction, but amidst my panic-stricken mind, I don’t think I was really processing anything. But once the man got to the count of five, I suddenly remembered that some bars on lower levels of buildings contained an upstairs storage room, with walls so thin you could theoretically smash your way onto the floor above. A major code structure violation for sure, but an oversight that could just save my life, for whatever value it still offered.

Quickly, I ran across the bar and flew into the kitchen that was in the back. Without any hesitation, my body threw itself towards a nearby ladder that thankfully led to a trap door in the ceiling. As I got up to the top of the ladder and pushed the door in, the man finally counted to ten. Within mere seconds as I threw myself into the storage room, a barrage of gunfire ignited the bar. Blowing right past the bars wall and into the kitchen. The sounds of metal pots and pans being shot at deafened my hearing, and a large cloud of dust trailed up the ladder, being abruptly halted as I shut the door.

The room itself was small, no bigger than an ordinary closet. Two wooden crates were stacked on top of each other, and a few crumbs of rotten food were in a corner. I had to keep myself from screaming at the sight of a giant rat feasting on whatever it was it was feasting on. But I knew I didn’t have time to observe my current surroundings. I had to bust through the ceiling before the gunfire ceased, or else they’d hear me up here once they come in to check the area. So, I hopped onto the crates and felt around the ceiling. That’s when I felt a loose floorboard to the second floor, but it was still tight enough to where I had to use force. I had then proceeded to lay down onto the crate, and with both my legs, I bucked the ceiling with a good three kicks until the board broke. Luckily, it was just in time for the gunfire to stop. Like a desperate rat, I crawled into the ceiling, and out onto the second floor, leaving my costume dirtied and covered in dust and cobwebs.

The floor comprised of a long hallway with the lights off. It had appeared to be an office space, though of course no one was here at such a late hour. I took a second to catch my breath, before running to a nearby bathroom. After bargaining into it, I ran into a stall and began vomiting into the toilet.

“Damnit, son of a bitch,” I kept muttering. I looked down to my shaking hands, seeing the chunks of brain and skull fragments splattered all over me. I hurled again. After what seemed like an eternity of throwing up, I flushed the toilet, slowly got back onto my feet and walked out of the stall, holding myself tightly as my body trembled in fear. My brain was now processing the death I had just witnessed firsthand, as the adrenaline was starting to wear down. I looked around the restroom, noticing how clean it was, despite the new blood stains that were on the floor. It was almost as if no one had ever used it. In fact, the whole office seemed like that.

I was sure I was safe for the time being, as it would take a bit for them to figure out that I was still in the building, if they did at all. With wobbling legs, I walked over to the sink and mirror, turning the faucet on and immediately throwing my gloved hands into the sink. With desperation, I began whimpering as I washed away the flesh and blood, doing my best to not vomit again. Once I was sure my gloves were clean enough, I took a deep breath and took my hat and mask off, relishing the cool air hitting my skin. It was enough to calm myself down and get my head leveled. Thankfully my face wasn’t too banged up, just a few scratches. I think the girls would really start questioning my actions if I went to school later today with even more injuries. But I dreaded the thought of what the rest of my body looked like. I could feel some of my stitches rupture, and the liquid of my blood-soaked various parts of the costume. I could never really take the stains out, so it was a good thing the costume was a dark purple. Makes the blood a little harder to see, especially at night. I frowned though at the new tears in my cape and shirt, along with previously sewn tears opening right back up, revealing my blood covered skin. What really hurt though was my wrist where the bullet had grazed me. Painfully, I slowly removed my glove, wincing as the fabric peeled itself off of the wound. There was a deep gash at the side of my wrist where the bullet had cut through. But luckily for me it wasn’t anything too serious. I could clean it, albeit crudely, with some bandages and alcohol I had in my pack.

I was about to put my mask back on, but for some reason my reflection caught my attention. I stared at myself for a bit, contemplating who it was that was staring right back. Was it the She – Demon, full of hate and bitterness? Was it a Sunset Shimmer that was loved and who loved everyone back? Or was it the Mare-Do-Well on a quest for self-destruction and isolation. After the talk I had with Rainbow Dash today at the gym, I honestly couldn’t tell anymore. Without any concrete answer, I put my mask and fedora back on, exiting the bathroom and reentered the dark empty halls like a forgotten spirit. I didn’t want to look back into the bathroom. Especially since I wasn’t going to leave the building for a while, and besides I had to get my stuff back. So, I headed for a nearby elevator.

ON THE ROOFTOP OF A BUILDING IN CANTERLOT CITY

I watched my feet dangle from the edge of the skyscraper. I always loved being up here. Every night I’d come to the city as the Mare-Do-Well, I always left my stuff on top of one of buildings. Security was almost nonexistent and whenever I needed to make a quick getaway from any major threats, like tonight, I’d be able to come back up here. The criminals of Canterlot’s slums would never think I’d be up here. They’d have to imagine that I’m somewhere down there, trying to escape from the maze of alleys. So, they’d have all their men patrolling them attempting to find me. I usually just ended up sleeping up here until morning. Then I’d change and head back down. Afterwards I’d grab some breakfast and head for the city bus to take me back to Canterlot’s suburbs for school. It was an inconvenient method for sure, as I never really was able to get any proper rest and was always late for class. Along with smelling like shit and never properly cleaning myself. But it kept me going all through the night. Which was always the priority over my long-term health. As counterintuitive as that sounds. Tonight however, I didn’t think I would get any sleep after what had happened in the bar.

My wrist was bandaged up and disinfected, but I knew it was going to hurt even more by the morning. I took my hat off and lifted my mask a bit, revealing my mouth. The cool breeze of the wind felt refreshing on my sweat covered face. I had my school bag next to me which had my textbook, incomplete homework and my spare clothes. On my other side were my leather boots I’d wear all the time, covered by my favorite leather jacket. Fishing through the bag, I pulled out a small plastic tray that had a salad inside of it, along with a bottle of water. My hands were still shaking, no matter how hard I tried to calm down. This made it difficult to hold the stuff, but after thinking about the dead man, I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. Despite a bagel from the previous morning being the only food I had all day. I put the salad back into my bag and just sat there, taking in the soothing sounds of city life. This time was probably the only time I felt at peace, regardless of the current situation. I ended up fishing through my bag again and pulled out a rolled-up stack of paper. It was Canterlot High’s newspaper. I bought a copy before school had let out.

But upon glancing at the first page, a frown formed across my face, and my cheeks began to flare. Posted right at the center of the front page was a big picture of me at the gym, on my knees with my head lowered in the little attire I had on. In big bold letters the headline read, “SUNSET SHIMMER THE SHE-DEMON OFFICIALLY DEFEATED.” I could feel my cheeks burn as I continued reading. “Sunset Shimmer, former bully admits having deleted all previous black mail of students, rendering the former bully powerless”. The rest of the article was full of previous information about my time as the school’s biggest bully, and my defeat at the hands of Twilight and the girls. As aggravating as it was, the boiling rage inside me quickly subsided, and a long sigh escaped my mouth. This was something I had coming. I guess it was just about time I felt the same humiliation I’ve given to others. I just knew that school later today was going to be fun. What really caught my eye though was the author of the story. Gabby Gums.

“Trixie”, I muttered out loud. Though, truthfully, I didn’t expect her to be the main culprit. For one, the photo had actually credited her as the photographer. But I had a hunch that she knew who it was, as she clearly supplied the story to them. But something else caught my eye. On the next page was another story brought to you by the mysterious Gabby Gums, and my eyes widened at the page. The headline above read “DOUBLE FEATURE, FLUTTERSHY EATS DOG FOOOD??”

The picture to accompany the headline was a photograph of Fluttershy at the pound, squatting down around a group of puppies while holding a bag of dog food. Her other hand had specs of the food on it, and she was sucking on her finger. Immediately I knew that this was an outright lie. Fluttershy would always taste test the food she would feed her animals to ensure they had the highest quality of food. Gabby Gums was clearly fabricating stories now. I had no real quarrels with myself being exposed. She could post my nudes for all I cared, but lying about Fluttershy, a sweet thing that has gone through enough torment, was where I drew the line. Perhaps I could do some good as Sunset.

CANTERLOT HIGH

The bus back to town took a little longer than I had expected. Primarily with the large police presence that was back at the bar. I had saw ambulances around the perimeter, and my mind had instantly thought of the man that had died in my hands. I couldn’t really sleep that night, as evident by the dark rings around my eyes. At first, I thought they were just part of the bruises, but once the black eyes started fading away, the shadows didn’t.

Eventually I did make it to school however, in time as well. But once I went inside the school, I had thought so much about the man and how his life was snatched instantaneously that I almost didn’t notice the crowd of stares that were fixated on me. The entire school was looking at me, giggling amongst themselves. I wasn’t an idiot of course, as I expected it. With a deep sigh, I lowered my eyes and continued to walk past the group.

“So, she doesn’t have any real power anymore,” I heard someone whisper.

“Maybe now is our chance for some revenge,” another voice chimed in.

“Did you see the picture? Who knew Sunset was such a slut,” a voice behind me said, this time no longer lowering their volume to a whisper.

“What a loser, at least she has that going for her,” added another one. Finally, I heard Trixie’s voice somewhere in the crowd.

“To bad she couldn’t rule the school. Maybe she should put on that outfit and go be a hooker.” A good number of the students began laughing. I thought about what Dash had said the other day, and for the first time in a while, I could feel my heart begin to break. Damnit did I hate it. It shouldn’t be hurting. It should already be beyond repair. It should have already accepted its place as nothing. But, thinking of Rainbows words, I felt…human for a bit. That’s when I felt the warm trail of tears pouring down my cheek.

“Damn you Sunset, cut that shit out right now,” I whispered to myself, trying desperately to wipe the tears away with the sleeve of my jacket. But the more I deprecated myself, the more pain I felt, causing the tears to not stop. What made it even worse was what happened at the bar earlier at night. The image of his blasted-out brains wouldn’t leave my mind. Suddenly, I could feel my breathing starting to intensify. The constant ridicule by the other students and my self-hatred accompanied by the images of death was starting to get to me. I started to second guess my actions. Did I really need to beat that man to a bloody pulp? Did anyone else get killed by the gunfire? I never realized how loud the students laughed at me. The tears wouldn’t stop falling and my mind wouldn’t slow down. That’s when I felt a pair of hands grab my arm and pull me into a nearby classroom.

“Hey Sunset, relax it’s….it’s okay,” Rarity’s voice said, trailing off a bit at the end. I opened my eyes to see the girls alone in an empty classroom. Fluttershy and Pinkie were sitting on top of the front desk, looking at me with concern. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the front rows, sharing the same look of worry as the other girls. Rarity was standing right next to me, mouth a gaped as her hand was still around my arm.

“Sunset…are you okay?” Rarity said. I could feel some tears pouring down my face, and my breathing was so heavy. I think my eyes were twitching a bit, and then suddenly, the reactions of the girls all made sense.

Damn I thought to myself as I started aggressively wiping my face. This was the last thing I ever wanted them to see. I knew how caring these girls could be, and I never wanted them to waste that on me.

“Sunset…” Rarity muttered, placing her hand on my shoulder. I quickly shrugged it off, walking towards the nearby corner of the door and throwing my bag on the floor.

“I’m fine…” I lied, trying to calm myself down. I never had a panic attack like that before. I think the talk with Rainbow and the sight of death was enough to crack the bottle I’ve been filling ever since the Fall Formal. Or Hell, maybe even the one from Equestria. Once my face was dry and the tears were absent, I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, taking one giant deep breath, and looking at the girls with an emotionless expression. My mind was calmed. I didn’t mean to snap like that, but being seen as anything more than a ghost to them was unacceptable. Despite what Dash said. Still, all the girls continued to stare at me, with looks that displayed even more concern than before. Thankfully for me, the sobs of Fluttershy broke their concentration. Pinkie had her arm wrapped around her, trying to comfort the distraught girl.

“How could someone be cruel and spread lies?” Pinkie said. The other girls walked up to Fluttershy, doing their best to offer comfort to the poor girl. Though they would all still look back at me with uneasiness.

“This Gabby Gums character is taking things too far. We otta bring this up to Principal Celestia. Does anyone know who they are?” Applejack said. I pulled out the newspaper and walked up to the girls, still keeping a good distance away from them though. I figured contributing to the conversation would be a good way to segment away from the little episode I just had.

“I was going to confront Trixie, since she was the one who took the photo of me. I doubt she would be the perpetrator since she threw accusations about me being Gabby. Though, either she knows who this person is, or she may be this person. My money is on the former. Trixie may be a bonehead, but I don’t think she’d credit herself as the photographer if she was the writer,” I chimed in.

“Hey Sunset, I wanted to ask you about that. Those photos were from the gym yesterday…I didn’t know she was taking pictures of you. You looked…why didn’t you stop her?” Dash asked, a bit of iteration was hinted.

“Wait, what happened yesterday? I too was curious on how the pictures were taken,” asked Rarity. Rainbow sat on top of the desk next to Fluttershy, squeezing the girl’s hand softly.

“Trixie was giving Sunset a hard time with her friends. I had to step in and tell them to back off…but I didn’t know she was snapping photos of her,” Dash answered.

“Well why didn’t you try to stop her Sunset? It looks like you were just…accepting it,” Applejack pointed out. I didn’t bother looking up from the paper. I knew what the girls were trying to get out of me.

“I guess we can look on the bright side. At least my story is on the front cover Fluttershy. I should be taking most of the ridicule. You know how much this school loves to put the she-demon down, especially with things like this. Nothing like reducing her to a whore. I’m sure the school has completely overlooked the lies about you by now,” I said while letting out a light laugh. But I immediately hushed up upon raising my head to look at the girls. All five of them were staring at me with unsettled looks, all aside from Dash who seemed more pissed than anything. Admittedly in hindsight, my attempt at trying to lighten the mood was, for lack of better words, in poor taste.

“Sunset….” Fluttershy croaked. The look of genuine heartbreak present on that innocent face of hers was enough to shatter anyone’s cold heart. It almost shattered mine. The memories of me putting such a kind person down were beginning to creep themselves to the forefront of my thoughts. I couldn’t handle it, the look of care she was giving me, so I quickly moved the topic along.

“Applejack, Rarity, both of your sisters are a part of CHS’ newspaper, right?” AJ kept her arms cross while she stared at me, clearly still bothered by what I had just said. Letting out a deep sigh, I rolled my eyes and looked over to Rarity, who although still shared the same expression as AJ, at the very least gave me a slow nod.

“Well why don’t we go talk to them and see what they know? I mean someone on that team has to know the identity of this character, right?” I was still met with silence and looks of concern. Realizing that this was getting us nowhere, I grabbed my stuff and began walking towards the door. The rest of the girls paused for a bit before following.

“We can talk to them at lunch, see what they know,” said Rainbow Dash. I nodded my head in agreement, more relieved than anything else to have finally hopped off the awkward moment we all had just had. Though, my moment was quickly shattered as Rainbow walked over to me.

In a whisper, she said “don’t think we’re just going to let what you said about yourself slide Shimmer. We’re going to talk about that later,” before walking away from me and heading to her classroom. As all the girls departed away for the daily schedules, each of them would give me a worried look before leaving. Eventually I was standing in the hallway alone.

“Way to go Shimmer,” I thought to myself.