EMV #2: Mare-Do-Well · 3:58am Nov 17th, 2014
Hey, guys. While I wouldn't say that Assassin's Creed: Rogue has stolen my soul, it's definitely borrowing it for a while, so no new story chapters yet. That's not to say that I don't have something to post, though, so here we are with another Eclipseverse Music Video. Those of you who've been reading my stuff know that with Rainbow Dash grounded for life, Scootaloo has a different idol to fangirl over; the mysterious masked Mare-Do-Well. But surely this anonymous heroine is just the stuff of comic book legend, right?
The following EMV has some spoilers for a plot idea I had for side-stories in the Eclipseverse, but considering how long it'll take me to get around to that, and the fact that almost nobody reads my journal entries, I figured it was fine. ;) As for the song, I'm using the Peter Hollens/Sam Tsui version of it instead of the original, because I love Peter's work.
Enjoy, and see if you can guess Mare-Do-Well's identity before the end.
Racing down the streets of Manehattan, an armored carriage peels away from the bound forms of several burly earth ponies in security guard uniforms. Being pulled by four earth ponies wearing black bodysuits and masks, they duck down a side street in the industrial part of the city, and hide themselves in a run-down factory. Once they have it parked, they take their masks off and start looking around as if expecting somepony to be there.
While they start to spread out, Mare-Do-Well looks down on them from the rafters, the lenses of her mask narrowing as she watches them.
I knew you were
That you were gonna come to me
And here you are
But you better choose carefully
One of the criminals looks around an old pile of crates. To his surprise, he sees the stallions he was looking for, a pair of stallions in sharply-tailored suits. But they look like they've been beaten up, and are bound and gagged. Before he can shout to warn the others, though, a net falls over him, and he suddenly finds himself getting tangled up in it as he is yanked up to dangle from the rafters.
'Cause I, I'm capable of anything
Of anything and everything
The other three crooks immediately come running to find their comrades wrapped up, and once they are in position, a bright light comes on, casting a shadow against the nearby wall of a mare with a hat in cape rearing up dramatically. They turn to look, having to shield their eyes from the glare of the light in order to see Mare-Do-Well posing for them.
Make me your Aphrodite
Make me your one and only
Beside Mare-Do-Well, a ball the size of a large marble is held in a pink magical aura. She tilts her head down toward them and launches the "marble" to the floor between them. When it hits the ground, it breaks open and releases a cloud of blue smoke that fills their vision.
But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy
Coughing and blinded thanks to the smoke, the thugs try to stagger their way out of the cloud. One of them lags behind slightly, and Mare-Do-Well rises up out of the smoke to grab him in a chokehold from behind. The other two turn and see this, so one of them tries to hit her while she's distracted. Instead of striking the heroine, however, she twists around at just the right moment so that the one she's choking takes the hit instead, knocking him out completely.
When the attacking stallion realizes what just happened, Mare-Do-Well winks at him. This enrages him, and he comes at her with a quick series of jabs that fail to connect as she bends and twists her body in a strange, almost drunk manner that is too confusing and distracting for him to land a solid blow.
So you wanna play with magic
Well, you should know what you're falling for
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse
After letting the stallion waste his energy for a bit, Mare-Do-Well seamlessly transitions into attacking. After faking him out into overextending his reach, she wraps her foreleg around his and painfully wrenches it, wasting no time in using her other hooves to land a series of pressure point strikes that knock the air out of his lungs and take the strength out of his limbs before she finally lets him go, turns around, and bucks him into the nearby wall.
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
With her would-be attacker down, Mare-Do-Well turns to the remaining thug and narrows her eyes at him. The criminal gulps and immediately turns tail to flee, racing out of the factory and into open air.
There's no going back
Before he gets far, Mare-Do-Well chases after the thug, zooming out of the smoke cloud so fast that electricity sparks the air behind her. The stallion is so terrified, he doesn't even notice her grabbing him until he realizes that his hooves are no longer touching the ground. Once he does, he looks over his shoulder and sees Mare-Do-Well carrying him higher and higher into the sky.
Mark my words
This love will make you levitate
Like a bird
Like a bird without a cage
Realizing how high they're going, he covers his eyes with his hooves. When he peeks out again, Mare-Do-Well has him dangling from the top of the tallest building in the city. She lets go, allowing him to drop several feet before he reaches out and holds on tightly to the spire at the top of the building.
But down to earth
If you choose to walk away, don't walk away
Mare-Do-Well hovers down to the stallion's level and pulls out a newspaper with a headline reading "ARMORED CARRIAGE ROBBERY! MAGIC RELICS STOLEN EN ROUTE TO MANEHATTAN MUSEUM!" He shakes his head and protests his innocence, but Mare-Do-Well gets in his face with a hard glare.
It's in the palm of your hand now baby
It's a yes or no, no maybe
So just be sure before you give it all to me
All to me, give it all to me
The crook sweats nervously, trying to hold out, but he looks down at the ground far, far below and his resolve cracks. He begins talking and points his hoof downward. Mare-Do-Well looks at where he is pointing, and the camera pans down and zooms in on a large mansion. Inside, Mare-Do-Well is sneaking through the halls when she finds herself facing a grid of criss-crossing lasers.
So you wanna play with magic
Well, you should know what you're falling for
Without hesitation, Mare-Do-Well stretches her legs, then dives between the beams. Expertly shifting her body and occasionally using her wings for added mobility, she maneuvers her way through the security and makes a perfect landing. She then hits a switch on a nearby wall panel, shutting off the beams before pushing onward.
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse
Mare-Do-Well makes it to the mansion's reading room where she finds a very large earth pony in a classy smoking jacket sipping a drink in front of the fireplace. He turns toward the heroine, looking like he has been expecting her, and throws his drink into the fire, and the two of them glare at each other and brace themselves.
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
The stallion and Mare-Do-Well charge each other, their hooves lashing out to trade blows. The huge stallion is as strong as he is big, his hooves landing crushing strikes against the heroine.
Despite the difference in size, however, Mare-Do-Well is not only able to withstand the hits, but her own attacks strike the kingpin with enough force to push him back. Realizing that they are nearly evenly matched in strength and endurance, the kingpin takes advantage of the first opportunity to grab her, then lift her up off the floor and spin around, hurling her with enough force to send her through a wall.
Before she can get back, the huge stallion lifts up a sleeve on his smoking jacket, revealing a bejeweled bracelet. Mare-Do-Well pulls herself back into the room just as he touches the largest of the jewels, and a shimmering aura surrounds his body.
Mare-Do-Well tries to move in again to land a few quick hits, but this time the stallion doesn't even bother trying to avoid them. He simply laughs as her hooves bounce harmlessly against the magical shield surrounding him, and a backhooved sweep of his leg sends her tumbling away from him. This time, Mare-Do-Well struggles to get up after the hit.
Nevertheless, Mare-Do-Well's hat lifts up, revealing a unicorn horn glowing with a pink aura. The same aura surrounds both her hat and another smoke pellet pulled out of her suit, which she throws right into the kingpin's face. Despite his shield, the stallion is still momentarily blinded by the smoke for a few seconds, and when the smoke clears just enough to see, he finds himself facing five near-identical Mare-Do-Wells.
Meanwhile, in another room of the mansion, a sixth Mare-Do-Well, taller and leggier than the others, is in front of a wall safe. She concentrates carefully, a pink aura surrounding her lockpicking tools as she maneuvers them in the keyhole. It isn't long before she manages to work the lock, and the door swings open to reveal an ornate bejeweled rod in the same style as the kingpin's bracelet, with a small tag attached to it reading "Rod of Dispel"
There's no going back
Back in the reading room, the five Mare-Do-Wells slip out of sight into the smoke. The kingpin braces himself and looks around, anticipating an attack. One launches herself through the smoke, striking him in the side with a rapid-fire barrage of punches that don't penetrate his shield, but do succeed in pushing him several feet before he skids to a stop. The instant he does stop, though, a pegasus Mare-Do-Well drops down from the ceiling and twists around to buck him in the face, taking him by surprise enough to keep him off-balance.
So you wanna play with magic
Well, you should know what you're falling for
The third Mare-Do-Well takes advantage of this and lifts up her hat to reveal a unicorn horn. Aiming it at his face, she fires several blasts of magic from her horn. Instead of even bothering with trying to overpower the shield, they stop just short and explode in front of his eyes in blinding flashes of light and color. Dazed and woozy, the kingpin lashes out at the first Mare-Do-Well he sees, only for her to contort herself out of harm's way and grab his leg, using his own momentum to trip him off his hooves.
Baby do you dare to do this?
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse
Once the kingpin is down, the tallest of the Mare-Do-Wells enters the room with the Rod of Dispel held in her magic. Aiming it right at him, she touches a large jewel on its side, sending out a beam of anti-magic which makes his shield pop like a soap bubble. He barely has a moment to realize what's happened before the Mare-Do-Wells are on him, knocking him around the room as they take turns pummeling him to keep the huge stallion off balance.
Are you ready for, ready for
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
After this beating goes on for several seconds, it finally culminates when a pegasus Mare-Do-Well starts circling him at incredible speed. Electricity crackles throughout the miniature tornado that fills the room while the other heroines back away. The kingpin, already rattled and barely standing, is then subjected to an uppercut charged with all of the lightning energy that Mare-Do-Well had built up, shocking him into unconsciousness as he is finally knocked down.
A perfect storm, perfect storm
While crowds gather around to watch the police bring out the criminal and his stolen artifacts, the six Mare-Do-Wells are perched atop a neighboring building. After making sure that nopony is around to see, each remove their masks. Trixie Lulamoon and Lightning Dust are the first to reveal their identities, sharing a hoofbump and a smug grin. Daring Do and Berry Punch are next, giving each other a nod of respect. The last two are Maud Pie and Fleur Dis Lee, the latter of whom takes out a camera with her magic in order to snap a shot of the kingpin as he's walked out.
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
Cause once you're mine,
With a click of the camera, cut to a shot of the kingpin sitting on the bed of a prison cell as the door slams shut on him.
There's no coming back
Always the showmare, aren't we, Beatrix?
I admit, the only one I got besides Trixie is Fleur, and that's because she's the first pony I think of when the phrase leggy is mentioned. Still, a great story idea!
Interesting
Hey there. I have to admit I didn't get any of them, but I still love this "video". I don't know why, but I am getting this partial idea for a future story. I'll explain it via Personal Message so I minimize possible spoilers.
So, Princess Celestia's star pupil in the Eclispeverse is a Mare Do Well?