> Adventures of the Mysterious Mare Do Well > by Doctoroctagonapus21 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: Who is Mare Do Well? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the city of Canterlot, the capitol of Equestria, things seem normal by day. Ponies go through their day not having a care in the world. However, at night, crime used to run rampant and ponies were afraid to go outside. That all changed with the appearance of... THE MYSTERIOUS MARE DO WELL... High atop the roofs of Canterlot, a lone masked mare was watching over the city, prepared to strike in an instant. There she stood, still as a gargoyle, a symbol of justice to the city, cape flapping in the wind, waiting for the slightest disturbance. All of a sudden an alarm went off in the distance. With the swiftness of the Wonderbolts, she leapt off the building, spread her wings and soard high into the sky towards the disturbance. Meanwhile, 3 unicorn stallions had broken into the Canterlot National Bank and were filling the carriage with money. "Hurry up!" One of them shouted. "If we screw up again, the boss is gonna kill us." More and more, they filled the carriage with money until one of the stallions looked into the sky and spotted Mare Do Well. "Leave the rest! We need to get moving!" In almost an instant the three were hooked up to the carriage and speeding off as fast as they could. Mare Do Well dived down to the streets and gave chase. It didn't take long for her to catch up to them, but these stubborn stallions weren't going to surrender so soon. They twisted and turned around corner after corner trying to lose Mare Do Well, but no matter what, she wouldn't be left behind. At just the right moment, Mare Do Well let out a supersonic blast of sound, deafening the stallions and tripping them up as the carriage fell on it's side. She landed and looked down on them in the moonlight. "Time to cash in," she said. Later, when the police arrived, Comissioner Whooves and his partner Derpy looked over the scene: the three stallions were tied up and the carriage was stood right-side up. "What do you think happened?" Officer Derpy asked? "It must've been Mare Do Well." Comissioner Whooves replied... On the outskirts of Canterlot lies a rather large mansion with a long and winding driveway. Mare Do Well went around to the back of the mansion and entered through a hidden entryway into a cave with some high-tech equipment and a glass case used for holding clothes. Mare Do Well walked up to the case and took off her hat and mask, revealing a white face, a horn, light and dark blue striped mane, and red eyes. "What a boring night." she said, taking of her suit which contained her artificial wings and placing the clothing items into the case. She rode an elevator into the bulk of the mansion. As the door opened to let her out, a bat landed on her horn. "Hey Bruce. You behave while I was gone?" to which the bat nodded yes. Also there to greet her was a white unicorn in a maid outfit with blue eyes and a stylish purple mane. "Good evening, Miss Scratch." "Good evening, Rarity." Vinyl replied. "Everything go okay?" "Yes, I've just finished installing speakers throughout the house, as per your request. I've also taken the liberty of preparing you a second suit. Honestly, the design is so gaudy..." "What's the news?" Vinyl asked, stepping into the large living room with a big-screen HD 3D TV. Rarity pressed a button on the wall and the news report sprang up on the TV. On the screen was a small purple and green dragon with a microphone. "Thank you, Lyra. Tonight, a bank robbery took place but was thwarted. Police Commissioner Whooves is here to give us his take on the situation. Commissioner Whooves, who is responsible for the events that occured here tonight?" "Well," said Commissioner Whooves, "We're still not sure who exactly is behind the robbery as the perpetrators refuse to give us a name..." Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a shadowy figure is watching the report as well... "However, We believe that the robbers were stopped by the Mysterious Mare Do Well." "There you have it folks, the Mysterious Mare Do Well once again striking fear into the hearts of criminals throughout Canterlot." "HAH!" the figure shouted to herself in a contrary tone. "The Great and Powerful Trixie fears nothing. Those fools will have to be dealt with later. Right now, I must continue with my plan... Soon, all of Equestria will know the name of 'Trixie'..." > Chapter 1: The Exciting World of Buisness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Another job well done, ma'am." Rarity says to her boss as she watches the news report. "Yup, since I've started this operation, nighttime crime has gone down drastically. I'd say that's worth a beer. How about it?" Vinyl says, turning to Rarity. "If I may madam, you have several appointments this afternoon with Miss Octavia among them. I'd suggest going to bed and getting some rest." "Aw, come on. Just one?" Vinyl asks. "If I do, you'll have a few and go to bed drunk, then you'll wake up late and go over to the company hungover. Forgive me, but I'm afraid I must say no." Vinyl takes a minute to process what Rarity just said and nods. "You're probably right. Okay, good night." Then hits the button to turn off the TV and heads upstairs. "Honestly, I worry about you sometimes." Rarity said to herself. Later that day, Vinyl heads over to DJ-PON3 Records, the highest rated music company in Equestria, credited for numerous movie music credits, making a number of pop stars famous, and providing Equestria's most beloved DJ. Inside, a grey earth mare with a black mane and a pink treble clef cutie mark trots up to the door of the biggest office in the building, on the top floor. As she walks up, a couple of buisness stallions walk out. In the room, behind a desk, Vinyl shouts "Come back next month! I'll have some samples ready!" The mare walks into the office lined with posters of movies and concerts for various stars. "Hey, Tavi." Vinyl said, sitting behind her desk. "Grettings, Vinyl." Octavia said, sitting on the provided cushions. "Nice to see you're awake and sober for once." "Yup. So I hear your small band of minstrels has been having a slow year." Vinyl said leaning on her desk. "Uh, yes, we've been having some trouble finding work lately." "And you're here to see if we can set up an album contract?" "Or whatever work you happen to have." Octavia clarified. "Well, those two stallions you passed by just asked for some help with a movie, and I think it could use a classical touch." "What's it about?" "Basically, a young colt, put in an orphanage uses the power of music to help him find his parents." Octavia pondered this for a second. "If you'd prefer making an album, you know I need some samples." "I'll talk to the others and see what they think." Octavia answered. "Thank you for your time, Vinyl." "I've always got time for you, Tavi. By the way, have you heard the news of that Mare Do Well?" "Indeed. She's a credit to the city." Octavia replied as she left. "Yeah I am." Vinyl thought to herself. "Next!" By late afternoon, Vinyl had returned home. Rarity was there to greet her as per usual. "Good afternoon, Miss Scratch." Rarity said. "Hey. My suit's all set to go?" "Wings are in perfect condition. You live a busy life and hardly get more than four hours of sleep a night. Why not take the night off?" "Crime doesn't take the night off, Rarity." Vinyl said, boarding the elevator, ready for another night on patrol... > Chapter 2: The Striped Sorceress (Night 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few nights later, Mare Do Well was out patrolling the city, the past few nights having been pretty tame. She jumped and flew from rooftop to rooftop, carefully keeping an eye on goings-on below. As she passed one alleyway, she spotted some kind of motion below so she lowered herself to the sidewalk and looked in on the alley. She saw a young orange pegasus with a purple mane tipping over the garbage cans and searching for something. "What are you doing?" Mare Do Well asks the filly. Startled by being addressed, the filly jumps and turns to look at Mare Do Well with fierce yet frightened purple eyes. "Who are you?!" "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Neither one said anything for a good few seconds until the filly said, "Wait... You're that Mare Do Well." "Yeah. Who are you?" "Name's Scootaloo." the filly responded. "Why are you here searching through garbage?" "Because I ran away from that hellhole of an orphanage." Mare Do Well took a minute to think to herself and began, "I understand what you've been through." "How could you understand?" Scootaloo asked. "I've been in the same situation myself." "Really?" Scootaloo asked, eyes now filling with hope as she looked at Mare Do Well. Before Mare Do Well could answer, an alarm went off. "Stay here!" she barked as she flew towards the alarm. When she arrived at the joke shop, she saw a zebra leaving the store with a small sack of something. "Hold it right there!" Mare Do Well shouted at the criminal. The zebra quickly turns and says, "Mare Do Well, I know who you are. But you cannot catch me, I've come too far!" then starts to run off. Mare Do Well concentrates and traps the zebra in a spell. However, a small explosion occurs inside the store, distracting Mare Do Well just enough for the zebra to get away. She growled then her thoughts quickly turned back to Scootaloo and quickly flew back to the alley, but she had disappeared... > Chapter 3: The Striped Sorceress (Night 2) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl returned to her secret lair, quickly putting her costume back in its case and walking up to the computer. She quickly gained access to the city's files and started a search for Scootaloo. Within a few moments, Rarity came down to greet her. "Hello, Miss Scratch. You might want to check the news." Rarity said. Vinyl quickly brought up the news stream while the computer was gathering information on Scootaloo. The Headline read, "Mare Do Well did poorly" On screen, Spike was at the joke shop along with the police. "I'm here now at Trixter's Joke Shop which had been broken into just a few hours ago. As you can see, the explosion that took place was small, but caused a few thousand dollars worth of damage. Here with me is Commissioner Whooves. Commissioner, can you tell us exactly what happened?" "Well, it seems that the only thing taken was a batch of plants called Poison Joke which we understand was being used to create some kind of joke powder." "Can you tell those at home exactly what Poison Joke is?" "It's a strange type of plant that has unpredictable effects on anypony that comes into contact with it." the Commissioner explained. "Is there any sign that Mare Do Well even attempted to stop the robbery?" "If she did try, then she left no traces." "Thank you, Commissioner." Spike said, turning back to the camera. "There you have it, folks-" Vinyl quickly turned off the video stream. "Grr, I still can't believe I let that zebra get away..." "What information are you looking up?" Rarity asked. "I'm trying to find a certain pony." Rarity walked up to the computer and watched the screen. "What's so special about this Scootaloo?" "I ran across her in an alleyway digging through garbage." "Oh my." "Says here she ran away from the St. Faust orphanage two years ago." Vinyl reported. "Sounds about right." "Why are you so interested in this one filly?" "Apparently you forget, I was in her situation once." "Well, what do you plan to do if you find her?" Vinyl walked over to the elevator. "Take her in and give her a good home." As the elevator rose, Rarity thought to herself, "I think the lack of sleep is starting to affect her mind." The next night... Mare Do Well wasted no time in scouring the city trying to find Scootaloo. She carefully scanned the ground as she went from building to building. "Where are you?" she thought to herself. By midnight, she had surveyed half the city but still no sign of the young pegasus. All of a sudden, an alarm went off. Mare Do Well quickly dropped her search and went off to find the crime. The alarm lead her to the greenhouse which had been broken into. She carefully stepped inside hoping to catch the perpatrator in the act. The effort was in vain, however, as a blinding burst of smoke filled the room, then disappeared just as quickly as it had come. On the ground several yards away were pieces of shattered glass. Mare Do Well used her magic to store a piece safely in her hat and then took off before the police arrived. She spent the rest of the night scouring the other half of the city but no sign of the perp or Scootaloo... > Chapter 4: The Striped Sorceress (Night 3) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next night, Mare Do Well continued her search for Scootaloo, carefully scouring the city, but keeping watch for any criminals. Unfortunatley, the search was cut short as an explosion went off by the bank. Mare Do Well quickly got there as fast as she could but when she got there, she noticed that the front of the bank was left untouched but an area of sidewalk in front of it was scorched, there was also a trail of some strange glowing substance leading towards the ponyhole. Mare Do Well followed it down into the sewer and began walking around, disturbed by the stench. She followed what traces of the glowing substances she could find and it took a good couple hours before she came across a path that lead her to the city's water supply resevoir. In the room, Mare Do Well spied the zebra she had encountered the other night standing next to a giant container. Mare Do Well carefully stepped in but in vain, a trap went off spraying some kind of powder into her face causing her to fall unconcious. Before she fell, she saw the zebra looking in her direction. When she came to, she could barely move at all and couldn't feel the ground. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was dangling over the resevoir tied up in chains connected to a lowering machine. She tried wriggling and the zebra said, "Struggle, but despite your wishes. Soon you'll be sleeping with the fishes." Mare Do Well tried using magic to sever the chains but nothing seemed to happen. "Your situation does not look well. That powder blocks all magic spells." "Why are you doing this?" Mare Do Well asked. "You ponies with your superior pride, forced me down here to hide." the zebra said, walking over to the container. "Poison Joke, in powdered form, will spread through the water like a swarm. Then all of you will see, the pain that you have caused me." "Look, I'm sure it was a misunderstanding." Mare Do Well said, trying to sympathize with the zebra walking towards the lowering machine. "You, however, will not know, for you will submerged below." the zebra said, pushing down a lever, as the machine started lowering Mare Do Well into the water. All seemed hopeless for her... "HIYAAAAAAAAH!" all of a sudden, Scootaloo came out of nowhere and delivered a nasty kick to the zebra's face, knocking her on the floor. "Don't worry Mare Do Well, I'll save you!" she said, switching the lever back. The zebra got up and said, "Foolish child, you've sealed your doom. You shall join her in her watery room." The zebra pulled out a potion, but before she could throw it, Scootaloo delivered another kick to her face, knocking her out cold. Scootaloo, taking a minute to figure out the machine, managed to get Mare Do Well to safety. "Thanks Scoots, but how did you find this place?" "I followed you of course." "Well, I've been looking for you." Mare Do Well said. "Really?" "Because, I can give you a great home." Mare Do Well replied. Scootaloo gave Mare Do Well a suspicious look. "I know how this looks, but if I wanted to don't you think I would have already?" Mare Do Well asked. "Good point." Scoots said. "Okay. So where do you live?" Within an hour, Mare Do Well, carrying Scootaloo was flying up to the mansion. "Hey, isn't that the Vinyl Scratch mansion?" Scootaloo asked. "Yup." Mare Do Well replied. "Why would she want to adopt me?" Scootaloo asked. "I just know." Mare Do Well added as they went in through the secret entrance. "Wow. Does she know you've set up camp back here?" Scootaloo asked. Mare Do Well took off her mask and placed it in the case, her magic now working again, and turned to Scootaloo, saying, "Yeah, we have an understanding." > Chapter 5: Business as Usual > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Welcome to your new home." Scootaloo's eyes widened as she beheld her new home, knowing that her life would be better from here on out. "WHOO-HOO!" "Welcome home Miss Scratch." Rarity said as she came in to greet them. "Am I correct in assuming that this is young Scootaloo?" "Yep." Vinyl replied. "I'll have Rarity here give you the grand tour, I have to get ready for work." "Wait, why do you have to work when you have all this money?" Scootaloo asked. Vinyl turned and asked "How do you think I got this money in the first place?" "Come along Miss Scootaloo, I'm sure you'd love to see the rest of your home..." Later, at DJ-PON3 Records... Vinyl's finishing up a call to the St. Faust orphanage. "Okay, send somepony over. ... Okay, thank you." Vinyl hangs up the phone as Octavia walks through the door, closing it behind her. "Time for some fun." Vinyl thought to herself. "Hey, Tavi, glad you're here." "Yes, I have some good news." Vinyl gets up from her desk and starts walking towards her. "We talked it over and... uh, Vinyl? Are you feeling okay?" Vinyl kept walking towards Octavia, giving her a strange look, and Octavia slowly backed up against the door. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just never realized how beautiful you were." Vinyl said to a rather uncomfortable Octavia, who was blushing like crazy. "Um... thanks." "Hey, how about you and I have some fun?" Vinyl asked. "What?" "You know, just the two of us." Vinyl exsplained with a wink." Octavia stuttered, she had no idea Vinyl liked her like that. Just then, Vinyl fell on the floor laughing her mane off. "What?" "Sorry, Tavi, I needed a good laugh. Come on, you know I don't swing that way." Vinyl said, getting behind her desk. "So, you said you had good news?" Octavia let out a sigh of relief, cleared her throat and said, "Yes, I talked with the others and are prepared to take you up on your offer..." "And here we have the library." Rarity said, leading Scootaloo through the house. "In here you'll find just about every book you could want." "Yipee, books." Scootaloo said uninterestedly. "I detect a bit of sarcasm there." "Reading's for nerds." Scootaloo said. "Well then, I suppose Miss Scratch is a 'nerd.' Of course she did add her own section to the library." "Seriously?" "Of course, come." Rarity led Scootaloo to another section of the library that seemed a bit different. "Miss Scratch is a big reader of 'Graphic Novels.'" "Graphic whats?" "Uh, comic books in a more book-ish form. Here's one you might find interesting." Rarity levitated one of the books off the shelf and into Scootaloo's hooves. "Ponymon?" "It's a good starter." Scootaloo opened the book and noticed something funny. "How do you read this?" "Ah, well this is a special kind that you read right to left." "Oh..." Scootaloo said, now reading it the right way, she soon got lost in the book...