//------------------------------// // Episode 4: Tampering in Affairs // Story: The Mysterious Mare Do Well - Reloaded // by Equinoxx //------------------------------// Mornings... I had unfortunately remembered how much I hated mornings. I was having such a nice time being fully energized! Oh well. Anyway, I begrudgingly got out of bed and caught a whiff of something absolutely rancid. I cautiously sniffed the air in search of the stench until finally finding out that it was from myself. If there was ever a sign that I needed a shower, that was it. Luckily, I already knew where the bathroom was. After showering, (no one needs to know the details) I headed out into the main hall-cavern-thing and trotted up to the computer. "What's new?" "There was another incident yesterday, but I didn't want to alarm you. Apparently a baby stroller rolled down a steep hill and nearly off a cliff. The mare baring the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, managed to stop the stroller just before it fell." The computer informed me. I stared blankly at the machine and clenched my teeth. "Anything else?" "Negative." "Swell." I grumbled. "I'm going to go out and watch over Ponyville." I didn't really know what I was gonna do. I didn't have a grand plan, since y'know, I only just arrived in Equestria two days ago. I figured I didn't really have to stay out of contact with anyone, but that hardly gave me any ideas. I decided to just wing it for now. "Are you alright?" I jumped a bit at the suddenness of the computer's voice. "Huh? Oh sorry. I'll just be on my way now." I avoided the question and left for the utility room. Mainly to escape the awkwardness. Once I got to my destination, I put on my suit and travelled to Ponyville via transit. About an hour after I arrived, the thing with the elderly ponies happened, and Rainbow was definitely in the overly cocky mindset. I followed her around a bit until a group of kids came up to her and asked her to go to Sugarcube Corner and take pictures. As expected, she obliged and went with them. Of course I continued to follow. Sure, I already knew the outcome, but I wondered, 'Am I even allowed to meddle with this world. I mean, I'm now a part of it, doesn't that give me free will?' I decided that I was thinking too much into it. Either way, after some more boasting from Rainbow that I ignored, Pinkie zoomed out the door. Honestly, it startled me a little. Something about her going at practically the speed of light terrified me. I turned my attention back to the events taking place and barely heard Rainbow say. "Being a hero is certainly not for everypony, but I'm up to the challenge." I felt the urge to grind my teeth. I wasn't a big fan of Rainbow in this episode, and hearing her arrogance in person made it so much worse. She continued taking a few pictures and eventually bid the children goodbye so she could presumably sleep in a tree. Twilight whispered to the other four, Pinkie having somehow returned unnoticed by me and the others. They all went into what looked like the kitchen, meaning I had to do some sneakin'. I knew I was detouring a bit from watching Rainbow, but I had a feeling that I should stick around. I slipped into the building and maneuvered around some tables to make my way into the kitchen. I listened in on Twilight speaking to the others. "We need to talk about Rainbow." She announced. "Ah wholeheartedly agree." Applejack said with an adjustment of her hat. "This whole hero business is gettin' outa hoof." "She is becoming incredibly self-centered!" Rarity pitched in, then realized how redundant that sounded. "Er, more than usual." Everypony turned to Pinkie when they expected a response from her too. She looked up absentmindedly. "Oh, is it my turn?" She asked, to which everypony simply blinked. "Yeah, I got nothing." She shrugged. I stopped paying attention for a second as a thought came to mind, 'Does my mask have a voice modulator?' 'Cause if so, I wanted to step in and speak to them. I growled silently and heard a slightly robotic and deep sounding voice. I covered my mouth with a hoof as I realized it had a bit of a louder echo. Fluttershy flinched at the sound, and probably assumed it came from an animal, so she got up from her spot to investigate. 'Crap!' I thought before scurrying around the corner and steadying my breathing to stay silent. I saw Fluttershy trot out of the kitchen while staying low to the ground. She seemed almost as cautious as me. She must have decided what she heard was nothing, as she slowly turned around and went back into the kitchen. I followed to the doorway once more and knew that I needed to make a choice then rather than later. Especially since it probably wouldn't take long for Twilight to come up with the Mysterious Mare do Well idea. 'Screw it.' I said to myself, throwing caution to the wind. I stepped into the room as stealthily as I could, which must have worked since nopony seemed to notice. I then cleared my throat to gain everypony's attention, though it sounded more like a mechanical growl. Unsurprisingly, they all jumped and quickly looked in my direction, though Fluttershy ducked behind the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Hello, Elements of Harmony." "Who're you?!" Applejack asked in an accusatory tone pretty much the second after I spoke. I felt a bit disheartened at seeing them look at me in varying levels of distrust, but I tried not to think of it too much. "I'm The Mysterious Mare do Well." I answered, keeping my cool as best as possible. I knew my tone should have sounded shaky, but it seemed the distortion of the voice modulator masked it. "How do you know who we are?" Twilight followed up on Applejack's question. "We-" I started, but then decided to take a different approach. I cleared my throat once more to answer her question more formally. "You are the Elements of Harmony, not exactly noponies. How could I not know of you?" I accidentally sounded a bit more snarky than I intended to, but I didn't mind. Though the sensible part of me hoped that I wasn't overdoing it. In fact, I could feel my heart racing at the thought of something somehow going wrong. "That's..." Twilight started, then paused to think my reasoning through. "...a good point." She admitted. "W-why are you h-here?" Fluttershy asked meekly, which caught me a bit off guard. I didn't expect her to speak to me at all after I startled her earlier. I gathered my thoughts for a moment before answering. "Because I have recently been made aware of the Element of Loyalty taking up some hero duties." "Pah! Yeah right! All she's been doin' is boastin' 'bout how difficult it is bein' a hero." Applejack scoffed. I turned to her, genuinely curious about what she meant. "Is that so?" "Positively so! She may be saving lives, but she is acting absolutely conceded about it!" Rarity confirmed. "Wait, why do you care?" Twilight suddenly asked me. That was a great question that I didn't immediately have an answer to without sounding crazy. But then it hit me! "I care because a self-absorbed hero is a faulty hero. She could get too cocky for her own good, and that could end with her getting herself, or somepony else hurt." "Ooo, are you some kind of superhero or something?" Pinkie asked in excitement? Curiosity? Let's just settle for both. I almost forgot Pinkie existed until she suddenly spoke up, so it took me a second reply. Not just that, but I also had to seriously consider her question. "Yes, though I normally keep to the shadows." I silently cursed myself for saying something so damn edgy, but it wasn't like I was lying. "Though I decided it was best to speak with all of you." "And we're honestly to believe that nopony has so much as caught a glimpse of you?" Rarity accused in disbelief. "Yes." Was my simple, if a little trolley, answer. "Hold on a minute, why should we even trust ya?" Applejack questioned with a raised eyebrow. "No offense, but ya don't look friendly with your mask'n'all." She had a good point, so I went for the cliche route. "You don't have to trust me, but I trusted you five enough to reveal myself. I hear it's a two way street." "Okay, even if we trust you, what's the purpose of coming to us?" Twilight asked. I had an idea. "Because you are her friends. There's nopony better to ask." A silence fell over the room as the girls pondered my statement. "Is there any catch to assisting us?" Twilight inquired. "No. I'm simply planning to reveal myself later today, and I'm hoping you can help by informing the mayor of my presence." That last part was completely spur of the moment as I thought of a way to make things easier for myself. I hoped they wouldn't ask too many questions. "What for?" Applejack asked quickly after my previous response, making me internally groan. She seemed to be trying to latch on to every one of my statements. Smart, if unnecessary. I then realized that I had an excuse! "Think of it this way: Rainbow needs something to hinder her unrelenting ego. I won't go and stop her from saving ponies lives, but I will help her when necessary. Hopefully that will let her know that she isn't the best in the world." And yes, I knew how this would turn out. She'd get jealous, and very upset with me. That's fine though, anything is better than her own friends being hypocritical. "Are ya certain ya won't mess up?" I had no clue, but for the sake of inspiring confidence. "Yes." I answered as firmly as possible. Applejack proceeded to scrutinize me with an unwavering stare, then sighed. "Fine, Ah'm willin' ta ya a chance." "If you're really just trying to help, then I am too." Twilight said with nod. "Duh, new friends are always great to have!" Pinkie exclaimed. "A-as long as y-you're not dangerous." Fluttershy added timidly. "Well I suppose if everypony else is okay with your plan, I am too." Rairty stated. "Good. then I'll be back after noon." With that, I spun around and left. Once out of sight, I snook out without anypony else seeing me. So in short; I set up my appearance, have somewhat gained five of the mane six' trust, and discovered that my mask can somehow distort my voice. Overall it's been a pretty eventful day! Now I'm just worried if I can actually pick up any of Rainbow's slack. I'm a lot more used to my pony body than when I first got here, but I still don't have the greatest grip on how to use magic. Hopefully I can figure something out, but for now I have some time to wait. Also, I have no idea how I'm not fangirling, but I'm not complaining. Roll credits.