//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24: Get Ready 2 Rokk 
// Story: Sunset Shimmer: The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well 
// by Joeycrick 
//------------------------------//

"Miss Mare-Do-Well..." the stallion chuckled as he took a long glance at the costumed mare in front of her. His eyes skimmed over the armored bodysuit, the boots covering her hooves, the belt pouches resting on her sides, the grapnel launcher secured on her foreleg.





"Picked up a few new tricks, I see. I'll admit: I almost didn't expect you to show up. Thought you'd have hung up the cape and cowl after the thrashing you took from Night Shade."

"And let scum like you roam free to terrorize innocent ponies across Equestria?" Mare-Do-Well growled, her glare piercing through the empty eye lenses on her mask. "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." He clapped his hooves together, attracting the attention of the three cloaked pegasi flying over the arena. All of them closed in on the stage, stopping behind their leader and hovering in place.

"Hmm..." the stallion mused as he turned around and faced the group, noticing something off. "Where's the fourth one?"

"Knocked unconscious, Diamond Cross," one of the pegasi answered promptly. "He had his head shoved through a magician's hat from what it looks like."

"Wow," Vinyl muttered, casting an amused glance towards Octavia. "Sounds painful."

"Diamond Cross..." Mare-Do-Well said, glancing at the leader of the cloaked ponies. "So that's your name, eh?"

Diamond Cross let out a small chuckle. "I guess you could say that," he answered, casting a look at Mare-Do-Well. "What about you, Miss Mysterious? Who's the mare hiding underneath that mask?"

"You'll have to rip it off to find out," Mare-Do-Well replied coldly, crouching down. "So... who's gonna be the first to try?"

One of the cloaked pegasi let out a yell and threw himself forward in a dive bomb, his hooves and wings outstretched. Rolling her eyes, Mare-Do-Well simply raised her forehoof and fired her grapnel launcher, the claw grabbing onto the pegasus's cloak. Before he could register what was going on, he found himself faceplanting onto the stage floor with a scream, followed by a loud *SMACK!* as a hoof slammed into his backside.

Trixie frowned as she looked down at the now-unconscious pegasus in front of her. "That was pathetic," she deadpanned.

Mare-Do-Well slammed down her forehoof as the grapnel line retracted back into the launcher. "Who's next?!" she shouted out fiercely. "Hopefully you'll put up more of a fight than he did!"

The two remaining cloaked pegasi spread their wings, ready to engage, only to stop at the sound of a low, gruff voice.

"No," the large earth pony spoke out, holding out a long wooden staff in his forehoof. "I will be the one to battle her."

Mare-Do-Well watched as the two pegasi shrugged and flew back to Diamond Cross. Her eyes were locked on the earth pony as he slowly stepped forward with a stoic expression. Silence filled the air as he stopped a few short feet away from the costumed mare. He removed his cloak in a flourish and threw it aside, revealing a dark grey robe covering his body. What little of his jet-black mane hung behind his head in a ponytail, along with his equally short tail. The seat of his robe, where a cutie mark would be on his body, was adorned with a ying-yang symbol accompanied by a pair of crossed swords.

This guy looks like he means business... Mare-Do-Well and the stallion locked eyes with each other for a few intense moments, until the stallion closed his eyes and bowed.

"Greetings," he declared. "I am known as Silver Blade."

Mare-Do-Well returned Silver Blade's bow with one of her own, her empty eyes glaring out from underneath the brow of her fedora. "Silver Blade..." she repeated in a low voice. "I believe Trixie already told you who I am, not that you needed it."

The stallion straightened his posture, bringing himself up to full height. "Your reputation precedes you, shadow warrior," he replied, his expression unwavering.

As she also stood up straight, Mare-Do-Well couldn't help but chuckle at Silver Blade's remark. "Shadow warrior, eh?" she said with a smirk. "Never been called that before."

"A fitting title for one such as yourself," Silver Blade continued, pointing his staff at the costumed mare. "The garments you wear blend in with the shadows and strike fear into the hearts of those who dare to oppose you. And those who oppose you are met with a force to be reckoned with, your skills in combat unmatched. Especially impressive for a unicorn such as yourself, who are not usually gifted with the strength and agility of the other pony races."

"How flattering," Mare-Do-Well replied smoothly, lifting the brim of her hat. "And what about you?"

"I have journeyed across Equestria my entire life, training my body and mind, always seeking out worthy opponents to do battle with," he declared. Crouching down, the stallion began twirling the staff over his head. Everypony watched as the staff spun in his hooves, becoming a blur that moved across his entire body as he flipped and jumped in place like a gymnast.

"There is nothing I thirst for more than the thrill of battle," Silver Blade said. "And you, shadow warrior..." At that instant, he took a massive leap into the air and swung his staff down. Octavia and Trixie gasped loudly, Vinyl letting out a sudden "ACK!" as the warrior landed right in front of Mare-Do-Well, who didn't even flinch as the end of the staff stopped just inches from her masked face.

"...are my next challenger," he finished.

"Jeez, melodramatic much?" Vinyl muttered, rolling her eyes and giving Octavia a "get a load of this guy" gesture with her hoof. Silver Blade glared at the DJ with his eyebrow raised, prompting her to stammer and take a nervous step back.

Mare-Do-Well looked up at Silver Blade and nodded. "Fine. I accept your challenge," she answered. "I was planning to fight you anyways, considering that you just crashed Trixie's show and attacked innocent bystanders."

"Excellent!" Silver Blade declared loudly. "This battle will last until one of us falls or submits. Any combat techniques and tools may be used. The only rule: no outside interference. If such a thing happens, the one receiving assistance will forfeit." He glanced at all the ponies around him: the cloaked ones behind him, the two musicians, and the showmare. "Is that clear?"

"Fine by me," Mare-Do-Well chuckled, crouching down and pawing the ground with her forehoof. "Whenever you're ready."

Silver Blade chuckled and lifted his staff over his head. "Do not disappoint me now."

Mare-Do-Well returned a chuckle of her own. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Everypony held their breath as the two fighters silently stood opposite each other for a few moments. Mare-Do-Well glared at her opponent, sizing him up. I've never encountered a martial artist before, unless you count Rainbow Dash... if he's as experienced as he looks, I can't afford to get careless. Let's see how good he is first.

Before anypony could blink, Mare-Do-Well vanished in a flash of light. She reformed right above Silver Blade's head, her hind leg outstretched. Silver Blade quickly brought his staff up and intercepted the attack, catching Mare-Do-Well's hoof. Swinging it over his head, he threw the costumed mare across the stage. With a flip, Mare-Do-Well landed on all four hooves, looking up as her opponent closed in on her with his staff.

Mare-Do-Well ducked the first swing and sidestepped the second. On the third, she grabbed the edge of her cape and pulled as hard as she could, bringing the other end into the stallion's face and leaving him dazed for a few moments, giving her enough time to throw two quick punches into Silver Blade's muzzle. Before she could follow up with a third strike, the stallion grabbed her forehoof and delivered a solid kick into her gut, sending her crashing into one of the stage's backdrops.

Mare-Do-Well shook the stars out of her head as she pushed herself onto her hooves. A shadow appeared above her, and her eyes widened as she spotted Silver Blade attempting to strike from above. Raising her forehoof, she fired her grapnel launcher at a scaffolding above her. Silver Blade's staff struck the very ground she was standing on as she shot upwards.

As she clambered onto the scaffolding, slightly winded from being pulled up so quickly, a voice reached Mare-Do-Well's ears. Looking down, her eyes narrowed as she spotted Diamond Cross laughing madly.

"While those two are busy, let's say we have a little fun with you nice young ladies," he cackled as the two cloaked pegasi swooped towards Vinyl and Octavia.

"This is SO not cool!" Vinyl groaned loudly as she and her partner fled into the backstage area, the two pegasi right on their tails.

"Oh no you don't!" Trixie roared, her eyes glowing dangerously. Before she could take off after the four ponies, a blast of magic struck her, and she collapsed onto the floor. Ignoring the pain and growling furiously, she looked up as Diamond Cross stood above her, an evil grin spread across his face.

"Ah ah ah," he said in a disapproving tone. "Let's not make this quick and boring, shall we?"

"Go to hell," Trixie spat out. This response was met with a sharp kick to her side.

"Looks like somepony needs to teach you some manners," Diamond Cross replied coolly as Trixie glared at him, clutching her side in pain.

Above them, Mare-Do-Well's rage was building up within her as she watched the scene unfold. You've gone too far, punk. When I get my hooves on you-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was dealt a sharp blow to the back of her head and was knocked to the floor. Her ears were ringing as she turned her head, her eyes widening at the sight behind her. "Uh..."

"You weren't thinking of running away, were you?" Silver Blade taunted with a sly grin as he twirled his staff.

Mare-Do-Well's mouth curled into a smirk that was visible through her mask. "Who said I was running away?" Without waiting for a response, Mare-Do-Well brought up her hind leg, knocking the staff out of Silver Blade's grasp. As it flew upwards, she rolled underneath the stallion and lifted herself up on her front hooves, thrusting her hind legs towards her opponent. Her bandaged hooves connected with his chest, knocking Silver Blade back a few feet, but he remained firmly on his hooves. Mare-Do-Well galloped forward, aiming a punch at Silver Blade's muzzle. He deftly blocked the blow with his hoof and attempted to counter with a punch, whiffing the brim of Mare-Do-Well's fedora as she dove to the side.

Rolling onto her hooves, the masked heroine looked up, spotting Silver Blade's staff falling towards the battling pair. Lighting up her horn, she attempted to grab it using her telekinesis.

Unfortunately, despite concentrating as hard as she could, the staff refused to obey her, continuing its plummet until Silver Blade jumped up and snatched it out of the air with a front flip.

"What the-?!" Mare-Do-Well barely had time to blurt out before she jumped backwards, narrowly missing Silver Blade's attack. "My magic... how-?!"

Silver Blade merely let out a laugh as he pointed his weapon at Mare-Do-Well. "You think I'm not aware of the gift of magic that unicorns possess?" he answered with a smirk. "An enchantment has been placed on my staff, nullifying any magic that could be used against it, including telekinesis."

"A staff that is immune to magic, eh?" Mare-Do-Well repeated, curiously eyeing the staff. I definitely need to tell Twilight about this! "Good to know. Too bad magic's not the only thing I have at my disposal." Reaching into her belt pouch, she tossed a pair of flash bombs at Silver Blade, blinding him for a moment as they detonated. While he was disoriented, Mare-Do-Well followed up by firing her grapnel launcher at the staff. Pulling with all her strength, she yanked the weapon out of the stallion's grasp, catching it in her hooves as it flew towards her.

Silver Blade couldn't help but grin. "Well played, shadow warrior," he told her with a hint of amusement in his voice. "But do you know how to wield it in combat?"

Actually, no. But there's no reason to tell him that. Mare-Do-Well gave a smirk as she stood on her hind legs, holding the staff straight up with one forearm. "Why don't you find out?"

"Very well, then!" Silver Blade rushed forward, his forehoof raised and ready to strike. Gripping the staff in both of her forearms, Mare-Do-Well charged towards her opponent, her cape flapping madly behind her as she and Silver Blade closed in on each other.





"This SUCKS! Worst. Gig. EVER!"

"Gee, thanks for the update, Vinyl!"

While Octavia glared at Vinyl in annoyance, the two musicians galloped as fast as they could, making their way through the backstage area. Flying right above them were the two cloaked pegasi.

As Vinyl and Octavia sped past an aisle of stage backdrops, the DJ turned around, her eyes widening as a pegasus swooped down at them. Grabbing Octavia's hoof, she quickly ducked around a corner, pulling her friend out of the pegasus's flight path at the last second.

"Thanks Vinyl," Octavia muttered as she tried to catch her breath. "Why are these ruffians even-" Her sentence was cut off as she looked straight ahead, spotting something approaching from behind Vinyl. "GET DOWN!"

"What the-?!" Vinyl was instantly tackled to the ground by Octavia before she could react. The two hit the floor, their manes blowing in a sharp breeze as the other pegasus sped right over them, laughing.

Vinyl growled under her breath as she pushed herself onto her hooves. "Yeah, keep on laughing, punk!" she shouted angrily, shaking her forehoof. "Just wait til Mare-Do-Well kicks your-!"

"Vinyl!"

The DJ stopped and turned around, scratching the back of her head nervously as an irritated Octavia got to her hooves. "Oh... uh, thanks Tavi."

"Hmph," Octavia muttered as she followed Vinyl down the aisle. "Normally, I'd ask you to show more class, but considering who we're dealing with..." She let out a long sigh and lowered her head. "Why would anypony want to attack a magic show of all things?"

"You seen all the crap those cloaked freaks did in cities throughout Equestria?" Vinyl responded, keeping her eyes and especially her ears open. "As far as I'm concerned, they're just terrorists, they do this because reasons. Or maybe they just love getting their butts kicked by Mare-Do-Well, who knows?"

Octavia frowned. "But why do you suppose they wanted to know where Applejack was?" she asked Vinyl. "They said they had some kind of beef with her."

"Does it really matter, Tavi? Besides, they're just asking for a whoopin' if they're going after one of Mare-Do-Well's friends."

Octavia raised her eyebrow at Vinyl's remark. "Applejack is one of Mare-Do-Well's friends...?" she repeated, casting a suspicious glance at the DJ.

"Well duh," Vinyl answered, an eye roll hidden by the lenses on her sunglasses. "Hell, she's friends with all the Element bearers, even Princess Twilight."

Octavia stopped in her tracks, never taking her gaze off the unicorn in front of her. "Vinyl..." she said slowly. "Why does it sound like you know who the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well really is?"

Vinyl turned around, lifting her shades above her eyes and giving a wink. "Not exactly, but I do have my suspicions," she answered with a sly grin.

Octavia wasn't buying it. "You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Actually, yes. You do."

Vinyl groaned loudly. "I'm serious, Tavi! Just hear me out!"

Octavia narrowed her eyes. "Okay, Vinyl. I'm listening," she said slowly, a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"Okay," Vinyl began, lifting her sunglasses so that they rested on top of her head. "Remember that Nightmare Night gig I had in Ponyville last year?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Octavia asked, crossing her forearms.

"That's when Mare-Do-Well returned," Vinyl answered as she slowly approached Octavia, her expression nothing short of serious. "A bunch of little kids were about to get snatched away, but she swooped in and turned him into a pinata. Well, earlier that evening, a certain unicorn was on the dance floor, also wearing a Mare-Do-Well costume."

Octavia wasn’t impressed at this response, as indicated by her loud groan followed by a facehoof. “So what? That doesn’t prove anything!”

“Okay, maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Vinyl admitted. “But I have this strong feeling that it’s not.”

“Okay, let’s say you’re right,” Octavia replied. “So who’s the unicorn who dressed up as Mare-Do-Well?”

Vinyl leaned in close to Octavia before answering. "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well is Sun..." Vinyl's eyes suddenly narrowed as she stopped mid-sentence.

Octavia raised her eyebrow, waiting for Vinyl to finish. "Well? Who is she?"

Vinyl held up her forehoof, cutting off Octavia. "Hold on a minute." Her ears perked up, and she turned towards the stack of boxes behind her. Octavia held her breath as she watched Vinyl examine it closely, placing her ear against the stack. Then suddenly, she spun around and kicked it over with both of her hind legs.

"Vinyl!" Octavia blurted out in shock. "What are you-?!"

But before she could continue, two other voices reached her ears, coming from the direction of the mess Vinyl just created. "Holy-!" "How did she even-OWWW!!!"

"Come on, Tavi!" Vinyl shouted as she grabbed Octavia's forehoof. She led her down the aisle and around the corner. As they ran past the adjacent aisle, Octavia spotted the pile of boxes that Vinyl had kicked over. And struggling to free themselves from underneath the pile were the two cloaked pegasi.

"How'd you know they were there?!" Octavia blurted out in disbelief.

Vinyl gave her friend a smirk. "Keen sense of hearing, remember? I could hear them whispering from the next aisle!"

"Oh right," Octavia muttered as she followed Vinyl close behind. "Given how loudly you blast your music, I always forget about that. Got any ideas?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Vinyl answered hurriedly as she rounded another corner, Octavia on her heels.

"Hey! There they are!" In a panic, the two musicians turned around, their pupils shrinking as they spotted one of the cloaked pegasi flapping behind them. There was a crash as his partner flew into him, blinded by a cardboard box covering his head. As the two tumbled around in a heap, Vinyl pulled Octavia into a narrow hallway.

"Why don't ya watch where you're going, ya klutz?!" "Move it, you're stepping on my cloak!"

"Vinyl?!" Octavia asked worriedly as she followed the DJ.

"Just give me a..." Vinyl's eyes lit up as she passed a doorway leading into a room filled with instruments and large speakers. Her mouth curled up into a smirk as an idea formed inside her head. "Oh ho, this'll do nicely."

"Wait, what are you-?" Before she could finish, Octavia found herself being pulled into the room. She watched for a few moments as Vinyl slammed the door shut and began rummaging around the room, before an annoyed expression took over. "If you've got a plan, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't leave me in the dark like this," she grumbled.

"How are you on the drums, Tavi?" Vinyl asked, her horn lit as she began messing with the sound system, turning the knobs all the way up and plugging in various equipment.

Octavia raised her eyebrow in confusion. "It's been a long time, but I bet I could probably still play them fairly well," she replied slowly. "Why?"

"Heh heh..." Vinyl chuckled as she threw a pair of drum sticks towards Octavia, who clumsily managed to catch them in her hooves. She was too busy juggling them to notice the pair of earplugs flying towards her until they bounced off her muzzle. Looking up, she spotted Vinyl holding a guitar in her hooves, her ears plugged up. Her horn was lit, and enveloped in her red magic aura were two sets of wireless headphones.

"I'll kill the lights, you lure those punks in here," Vinyl told her with a sly grin. "I'll slip these babies over their ears once I shut the door. Then... we blow the roof off their heads."





"End of the line, missy!"

*SLAM!* After chasing Octavia through the backstage area, the two stallions suddenly found themselves in complete darkness.

"Hey, who turned off the li-" They let out a yell as something was shoved tightly over their heads, covering their ears.

"What is this?!" one of the stallions shouted as he tried to wrestle it off.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED, YO!" a voiced boomed out.

"Who- where are ya, punk?!" the other stallion growled loudly, slamming his hooves together and clearly not amused.

"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"

A pair of bright spotlights suddenly ignited, temporarily blinding the two stallions. They tried to shake the spots out of their eyes, only to get interrupted when the voice rang out again.

"LET THERE BE SOUND!"

Suddenly, an absurdly loud techno beat slammed against their eardrums, coming from the headphones they suddenly realized they were wearing.

"That little-! Get it off!" they shouted as they tried in vain to throw the headphones off. Unfortunately, they refused to budge, and the pegasi ended up tripping over each others' cloaks.

"LET THERE BE DRUMS!"

The stallions looked up, spotting Octavia at the seat of a massive drum set. Smirking, she gave three quick taps with her drumsticks...

"Oh crap."

...before bringing them down in a furious flurry of beats. Beats that pounded the stallions' ears without mercy. They dropped to their knees, clutching their throbbing heads as Octavia continued to lay on the drums, her hooves moving faster than they could keep track of.

"How the hell does she even know how to drum like that?!" one stallion yelled out in disbelief as he clutched his head in pain, watching the normally-classy musician beat on the drums like a madmare.  "I thought she was just some lame violinist!"

"That's cellist to you," Octavia replied with a smirk. "And I used to play drums in my school's marching band."

"What'd you say?!"

"LET THERE BE GUITAR!"

"Oh come on!" one of the stallions screamed as Vinyl jumped in front of Octavia, holding a guitar in her hooves. Giving a quick nod to Octavia, she turned to the stallions with a smirk on her face, their fearful expressions giving her a feeling of satisfaction.

"Please don't-!"

The stallion never got to finish his sentence as Vinyl let loose a loud power chord from her guitar, emitting a deafening noise that caused the stallions to reel back. Her hooves moved across the strings of the guitar as she began playing a loud riff that added even more decibels to the sound coming out of the headphones.

"Make it stop! PLEASE!!!" a stallion cried out, his eyes tearing up from the deafening music he and his partner were unlucky enough to be listening to.

"LET THERE BE ROKK!!!" Vinyl screamed into the microphone levitating in front of her. Her voice crashed against the stallions' ringing ears, and they began screaming loudly as the music got even louder. Octavia wailed on the drums, Vinyl broke into a guitar solo, and the stallions just lay on the floor in fetal position, clutching their heads in pain as they begged for the noise to stop.

The last thing they remembered before blacking out was the booming voice of Vinyl Scratch and the sound of snapping strings as she brought her guitar down on their heads. It would also be the last thing they would ever hear.

"GOOD NIGHT, PONYVILLE!!!"