//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eleven: The Fall 
// Story: Mare-Do-Well: Everfree 
// by PaddedCell 
//------------------------------//

"The Baron sent a message while you were sleepin'." Tarn called as Scootaloo slipped out of the bunkhouse and into the war room, slipping on her mask and hat. Scootaloo was disoriented due to having woken up so early, but managed to stay attentive. "He's got Sweetie Belle, apparently. But now we have bigger problems to worry about." Scootaloo, now encased in the mask, assumed the cold tone of Mare-Do-Well.
"What do you mean, 'bigger problems'?" She asked, trotting up to the resistance leader. Tarn merely tossed a newspaper across the central table. The headline made the matter crystal-clear.

'PRINCESS CELESTIA AND PRINCESS LUNA TO BE EXECUTED PUBLICLY, BOARD OF DIRECTORS SAY.'

"They're gonna butcher the Princesses tomorrow, in a public ceremony. Probably in the Palace courtyard. That'll scare the ponies of this city for good, and with Celestia and Luna gone, the Board will rule Equestria." Tarn grumbled, head lowered as he seethed with rage. "They win. We lose." Mare-Do-Well turned tail and dashed out of the resistance HQ. She called out as she left, voice passionate and louder than usual.
"Not if I have anything to do with it. We haven't lost.. Not yet."

As the sun began rising over the rooftops of Everfree City, Mare-Do-Well swooped down and landed in a crouch outside the front entrance to a battered old food warehouse. Having verified with Tarn via radio on the way here, she had confirmed this as the place the Baron had requested they meet. The dry old doors hung open as if to invite her inside, and the hero stepped in quietly. The inside of the warehouse stunk of rot and cigar smoke, and the central area was lined with piles upon piles of crates full of now-mouldy food. Staring around, Mare-Do-Well searched for the Baron.
"Lovely.. You made it." His voice cackled from somewhere unseen. The masked hero stared all over, alert and vigilant. But the Baron remained hidden. "Too bad ya won't be around much longer, eh?" There was a clattering of automatic gunfire, and Mare-Do-Well dodged behind a huge crate. Her breathing became rapid.
"Today is not a good day to mess with me, Baron." She called, a hint of anger in her voice. "Where is Sweetie Belle?"
"Right 'ere. We'll let her go, don't worry. You just won't be joinin' her." The Baron's voice sounded, smarmy. "Why not come out and play, hero? Well, we'll send out this little filly.. If you'll trade places with her." Mare-Do-Well heard a strangled whine and the sound of a body being tossed from one of the walkways hanging above the warehouse floor. Peeking around the corner of the crate, she saw Sweetie Belle's battered, barely breathing form on the floor, with the Baron himself leaping down beside her from above. He held a submachine gun in his hooves, aimed at Sweetie's head. Cautiously, Mare-Do-Well stepped into the light before the mob boss. He grinned.
"Let her go. Take me if you want, but let her go." The hero uttered. With that, The Baron kicked Sweetie forward, raising his gun to aim at Mare-Do-Well. "Before you do whatever you plan to.. Where did you-"
"Where did I find the mare? I had her kidnapped quite a while ago. I never had to look for her at all. Oh, and.." He yanked the tracer tag from his pocket. "I found your fancy little trackin' thing. Useless piece of shite." He stomped it under a hoof, and puffed out a cloud of smoke, cocking his gun. "Kinda like you, Mare-Do-Well."
"That's what you think." She muttered, and dove into the darkness. Quickly, the hunt began. The small troop of the Baron's henchmen which had accompanied him on this outing began dropping like flies, knocked into unconsciousness by a hoof, an electrical dart, a whip of the cape.. Soon, only the Baron remained. He stood in the centre of the warehouse, looking around and aiming his gun wildly.
"Come out here and face me, you.. You chicken!" He roared. Mare-Do-Well dropped down behind him, wrapping a hoof around his neck and using the other to smack his gun away. It spiralled across the floor into the shadows.
"This is it, Baron. You've lost." She uttered, raising a hoof to bring down a final knockout punch. With a snarl, the Baron turned around to face the hero, pulling something from his overcoat.

There was a loud, echoing bang.

Two minutes later, the Baron left the warehouse. Lying on the floor inside, in a pool of blood, were a body, a stubbed-out cigar, and a warm, smoking pistol. It was Sweetie Belle who found the body, and Ironwork turned up soon after to check on the hero after hearing word from Tarn that she had gone after the Baron. Ironwork found a weeping Sweetie Belle hunched over Mare-Do-Well's still-warm corpse. The body, along with Sweetie Belle, was brought back to the Resistance HQ. There was a memorial service of sorts held, and that night, the Resistance was almost broken down by the news of their icon's death. Had it not been for Heather's idea in the saddest of circumstances, then the war would have been lost already. As it was, the death of Mare-Do-Well did not mark the end of the war. The Board had not won, not by a long shot. Because on the next morning, in the unlikeliest of circumstances, the Resistance movement managed to raise an army of its own.. With Mare-Do-Well as its leader.