• Published 14th Jan 2015
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Sunset Shimmer: The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well - Joeycrick



During one fateful Nightmare Night, a last-minute costume choice turns Princess Twilight's student into a hero.

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Chapter 8: Caped Crusaders

When Twilight arrived at her library, she was surprised to find Sunset, Stray Wind, and Rainbow Dash already waiting inside. What surprised her even more, however, was the crystalline bust that was sitting next to Sunset.

"Sunset, is that the Earth Relic?! What's going on?"

Sunset spent the next couple minutes explaining to Twilight and Rainbow what happened at the convention: Night Shade's attack, Stray Wind getting a power boost from the Relic, and Daring Do entrusting them with it while she went up north to find the Relic of Flight. When she finished, Twilight held her hoof up to her muzzle, closing her eyes in thought, while Rainbow Dash's eyes were on the nearby Relic.

"So..." the blue pegasus said slowly as she looked into the bust's glowing eyes. "This thing is what Night Shade's after, huh?"

Sunset nodded. "Yep, that's it. One of the three Relics needed to form the Celestial Amulet."

"And from what Sunset has told us, having just one is enough to make Night Shade a threat," Twilight added as she glanced at Stray Wind. "I mean, if it made Stray Wind strong enough to send a pony crashing through a brick wall with just a small kick..."

"I'd have loved to see that..." Rainbow muttered with a cocky grin as she gave a wink to Stray Wind, who smiled nervously.

"That's why Daring's having us hold onto it while she's at the Crystal Empire searching for the Relic of Flight," Sunset said. "Better to play it safe than to risk both Relics falling into Night Shade's hooves."

"I see," Twilight answered as her horn lit up. The Relic was enveloped in a violet aura as it floated towards her.

"Where are you taking that?" Rainbow asked.

"In my lab, there's a safe hidden behind one of the cabinets. It's where I keep anything that is potentially dangerous, and I'm the only one that can access it, nopony else."

Rainbow looked at Twilight, surprised. "Seriously?"

"Dead serious," Twilight answered.

"And you sure the Relic's gonna be safe there?" Stray Wind asked.

Twilight responded with a nod. "There's nothing inside right now, and the safe is insulated. The Relic won't affect or be affected by anything while it's inside."

Sunset turned to Twilight. "Speaking of which... did you find out anything from the Canterlot Archives?"

The lavender alicorn shook her head. "I haven't found out anything new, and there's still a bunch of books I haven't looked through. However..." Her horn lit up, and a massive pile of books popped into existence. The other three ponies' eyes widened as they gazed upwards, the pile almost reaching the ceiling. "Princess Celestia gave me permission to take a couple back here to look over," Twilight explained.

Rainbow turned to Twilight with an unamused look on her face. "Seriously, Twi? A couple?" she deadpanned. "Yeah, maybe a couple hundred."

"Whoa..." Sunset's eyes traveled up the pile. "That looks like a lot. Need any help going through them?"

Twilight shook her head. "I've got it covered. Besides, what if Mare-Do-Well is needed?"

Sunset looked down at the sun-shaped pendant around her neck for a moment. "Good point..."

"Don't worry," Twilight reassured her. "If I find out anything, you and Daring will be the first ones to know. Just leave it to me." With that, her horn lit up again, and both Twilight and the Earth Relic vanished into thin air.


The following week seemed to pass in a blur to Sunset. While she was out stopping minor crimes as Mare-Do-Well, Twilight was holed up in the library, trying to find out more about the Celestial Amulet. Her priority was to narrow down the location of the Relic of Magic, and so far, her efforts were fruitless. All she had to go on was that it was somewhere on the Equestrian countryside, and none of the books she grabbed from the Archives offered an exact location. Even Princess Celestia, the one who split the Amulet into Relics before scattering them, didn't know its exact whereabouts.

However, after one night of non-stop research, she managed to find something.

"Twilight?" Sunset called out as she stepped into the library. "You still here?" She spotted Twilight at the desk, dozing off with her head slumped over one of the books. She shook her head in amusement. "Of course..." she muttered as she walked over and tried shaking her mentor awake. "Hey, wake up."

"Ugghh... five more minutes..." she murmured.

"It's already past noon."

Twilight jerked awake at Sunset's response. "WHAT?!?!" She looked outside the window, and began panicking as she jumped out of her chair, knocking some books to the floor. "GAH!!! I should've been awake by now!"

Sunset facehoofed. Oh great, another breakdown. "Twilight!" she called out.

"Aaagh, now my schedule's all messed up! All that planning, wasted!"

"Twilight!!!"

"I didn't even eat breakfast yet! YOU DON'T MISS BREAKFAST!!! That's the most important meal of the day!"

"TWILIGHT!!!" Sunset grabbed Twilight's shoulders and shook her. "Calm down!"

Twilight stopped as her violet eyes met Sunset's cyan ones. Her ears drooped as she began blushing. "Sorry about that," she muttered sheepishly.

Sunset smiled as she pulled Twilight in for a hug. After a few moments, she turned to the big stack of books next to the desk while Twilight stretched her legs and let out a yawn. "You've been busy. Did you find anything?"

"Still don't know where the Relic of Magic is, but I think I've found something that can help." Twilight levitated the book and flipped to the correct page. "It says here that the glowing eyes on the Earth and Flight Relics gaze in the direction that the other one is in. Take a look at this." She levitated the Earth Relic and pointed her hoof at its glowing eyes. "The eyes appear to be empty, but they're actually not: if you look hard enough, you can barely make out the irises that are obscured by the glow." Sunset leaned in close, and upon closer inspection, she saw that her mentor was right.

"See the direction it's looking in right now? Watch this." Twilight turned the crystalline pony's head as Sunset kept her gaze on the glowing eyes. As the head turned, the eyes kept their gaze locked northward. Sunset stared in awe as Twilight rotated the head further until it was facing away from the Crystal Empire. The eyes were now facing the back of the pony's head.

"Whoa..." Sunset muttered.

"That's how Daring found out the location of the Relic of Flight," Twilight stated. "If she had this, it'd be easier for her to track it down. But it's also riskier if Night Shade decides to go after her."

"So what about the Relic of Magic? How does it help us find that?"

Twilight flipped to the next page before replying. "Because the Relic of Magic is the most powerful of the three, you need both the Earth Relic and the Relic of Flight to find it. Only when they're together will the eyes point to its location."

"So we just wait for Daring to come back with the second Relic, and then we'll know where the third one is," Sunset said. "Then we just need to find a way to get rid of them for good."

"Still haven't found anything about that yet," Twilight responded as she closed the book. "I'll continue searching later, once I get myself cleaned up, fed, and fully awake."

"Actually, I think you should take a break," Sunset pointed out. "You look like you really need one."

"No, I'm..." *yawn* "...I'm fine."

Sunset wasn't convinced, as shown by the stern expression on her face. "Seriously, take a break. Don't stress yourself out more than you need to."

Twilight rubbed her eyes. "You sure about that?"

Sunset nodded. "You've found a way to locate the third Relic. You've definitely earned one."

The alicorn remained silent as she pondered for a few moments. With a sigh, she said, "I guess you're right."

"How about we just take a walk around Ponyville?" Sunset suggested as the two ponies stepped out of the library and into the main hallway. "It'll give you a chance to unwind."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Sounds good, but I still need to clean myself up, and-" At that moment, her stomach grumbled loudly. Twilight remained silent while Sunset tried to keep herself from giggling. "...that."

"Okay, meet you at Sugar Cube Corner?" Sunset called out as she headed for the front door.

"Sugar Cube Corner," Twilight answered, lighting up her horn. As she disappeared in a flash of light, Sunset made her way outside the castle and started following the road to Ponyville.


After grabbing a bite to eat at Sugar Cube Corner and taking a stroll around Ponyville, Twilight and Sunset paid a visit to the bookstore. They spent the entire afternoon there, just browsing through the many selections the store offered. Now, as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, the two ponies were returning to Twilight's castle on the outskirts of Ponyville, their saddlebags filled with the books and comics they bought. As they made their way through the now-empty streets, Twilight and Sunset decided to pass the time by checking out one of the comics Sunset grabbed. It was entertaining... but not in the way they thought it would be.

"Oh, you've gotta be... you can't be serious!" Twilight snorted as she finished reading the last panel on the page they were on.

"I know, right?!" Sunset was trying to stifle her laughter, but she was failing miserably. "What kind of hero blows up a cruise ship, then boards it to hunt down a terrorist while it's sinking?!"

"Did he or whoever wrote this even think that plan through?!" laughed Twilight. "This just keeps getting more ridiculous!"

Sunset closed the comic and levitated it into her saddlebag. "We should show this to Rainbow Dash, she'd get a real kick out of this one. How much do you bet this would get even more bizarre?"

"From what I've seen so far, it's extremely likely," Twilight answered. "It'd be pretty difficult to top that, though-"

Suddenly, Sunset's ears perked up, and she stopped in her tracks, holding her hoof up. "Hold that thought... you hear that?"

Twilight stared at Sunset before looking around. "I didn't hear anything."

"No, I definitely heard something," Sunset replied as her eyes narrowed. "I'll go check it out."

Twilight nodded. "Okay, if you say so. I'll see you when I get back. Be careful, Sunset."

"I will," Sunset assured her. With that, she ran into a nearby alleyway while Twilight continued towards the castle. When she looked back, she saw a dark figure with a flowing cape and fedora leaping across the rooftops of Ponyville.

A small smile formed on Twilight's face. You've come a long way, Sunset Shimmer...


It definitely came from over here... Mare-Do-Well galloped across the rooftops, trying to locate the source of the sound she heard earlier. She continued along until she heard muttering below her. Crouching down and peering over the rooftop, she spotted an earth pony mare in a black sweater behind a building, rummaging through a pair of saddlebags. Lying next to her was an unconscious pony, whom Mare-Do-Well recognized as Roseluck.

"C'mon, don't you have anything other than seeds in this stupid thing?" the thief grumbled as she tossed packets of plant food behind her.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Mare-Do-Well prepared to jump down and teach the unicorn a lesson-

"WHOA!!! Hey, watch it, Scootaloo!"

Oh crap! Both Mare-Do-Well and the mugger turned their heads as a scooter screeched around the corner. Behind the wheel was Scootaloo, and on the wagon behind her, clinging tightly to each other as they screamed, were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The mugger jumped back as Scootaloo narrowly avoided crashing into her. Just as the filly looked back, ready to apologize to the pony, she spotted the unconscious Roseluck lying next to her.

"Hey!" she shouted as she glared at the mugger. "What do you think you're-"

"SCOOTALOO!!!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shouted, pointing their hooves forward. Scootaloo turned her head, eyes widening as she saw a pile of trash cans ahead. Unable to react in time, the scooter crashed and sent the Cutie Mark Crusaders flying a couple feet before hitting the ground.

The mugger dropped the saddlebags and turned around, galloping at a full sprint. The Crusaders lifted their heads as they saw her disappear behind the corner.

Scootaloo stood up first. "Come on, guys! We should go after her!" she shouted. "What if our special talent is stopping crimes?"

"Seriously?" Sweetie Belle groaned. "If our special talent was stopping crimes, why didn't we stop her before we crashed?"

"Cut me some slack, I didn't know she was a criminal until I sped right past her!" Scootaloo replied. She opened her mouth to continue, but stopped as the sound of hooves slamming reached her ears. The Crusaders looked towards the corner where the mugger disappeared, and ran over to check out the commotion. As they turned the corner, they spotted the mugger lying unconscious on the ground. They gasped as they saw the pony standing over her, recognizing the wide-brimmed purple fedora planted on her head.

"Mare-Do-Well!"

The masked mare simply turned her head towards the Crusaders. "You three should head home, it's getting late," she said. With a tip of her hat, she jumped up and vanished over the rooftops, the three fillies watching in amazement.

"She is SO cool!" Scootaloo remarked as she and her fellow Crusaders made their way back to the scooter. "Well, not as cool as Rainbow Dash, but she's pretty close!"

"Must be an exciting life being a superhero," Apple Bloom remarked.

"Duh!" Scootaloo replied. "Of course she's got an exciting life! Going all around Equestria, saving ponies and knocking out bad guys..." Suddenly, an idea came to her. She turned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with a grin on her face.

"Uh oh..." Sweetie Belle muttered. "She's got that look in her eye again."

"We should become superheroes!" Scootaloo declared loudly as she jumped onto her scooter and tied her Crusaders' cape around her neck. "And Mare-Do-Well can teach us how to totally kick some major flank!"

Sweetie Belle, clambering onto the wagon alongside Apple Bloom, raised her forehoof. "And what makes you think she'll agree to that?"

"Come on, it's worth a try!" Apple Bloom answered, smiling eagerly as she tied her Crusaders' cape around her neck.

She and Scootaloo leaned their heads close to each other and yelled, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SUPERHEROES!!!"

Sweetie Belle groaned as the Crusaders sped off, in search for their new mentor.

However, after an hour of riding around town, their search didn't yield any results. Scootaloo continued to push on, while Apple Bloom's eyes began drifting shut and Sweetie Belle yawned.

"Can we go home now? It's getting late, and I don't need Rarity chewing me out for it," she asked.

"Same here, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom added as she glanced towards Celestia's sun, barely visible over the horizon. "Granny Smith'll get into a massive fit if I don't get back."

"Come on, just one more pass!" Scootaloo begged as she turned another corner. She was also tired, but she was too excited about getting her cutie mark to realize it.

"We can search for her tomorrow, let's just go," Sweetie Belle protested.

"But what if she's not in town tomorrow? You know she travels all over Equestria, right?"

"Then we'll wait until she comes back here."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sweetie Belle! What if nothing happens that causes her to show up?"

"Ponyville faces disasters every week. Remember last week when one of Apple Bloom's botched potions accidentally turned Fluttershy into a-"

"I see her! Up there!" Scootaloo pointed towards a nearby cliff that overlooked the nearby countryside. Standing at the edge, her cape flowing in the wind, was the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.

Grinning excitedly, Scootaloo parked the scooter behind a pile of bushes and jumped off, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle following behind her. The three fillies hid behind a tree and peeked out from behind it, watching the masked mare as she pulled off her hat and sat down on the edge of the cliff.

"What's she doing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Probably taking a break from smacking bad guys around," Scootaloo answered.

"You think she'll teach us how to become superheroes?" Apple Bloom whispered excitedly.

"Of course she will!"

Sweetie Belle scoffed. "Yeah, I don't think so, Scootaloo. Why don't we visit Pinkie Pie and try to get our cutie marks in party planning?"

Scootaloo responded with an eye roll. "Pfft, boring!"

"You're seriously calling Pinkie Pie, the massive pink party pony, boring?"

"No, but come on! Being a superhero is more exciting than... wait, what's she doing now?"

The Crusaders looked back at Mare-Do-Well, and suddenly held their breath once they noticed that she was pulling her mask off. A familiar yellow-colored mane, complete with red streaks, fell over the mare's shoulders as she began to shake it loose. The Crusaders gasped loudly and their eyes widened as they recognized the unmasked pony.

"No way!" Scootaloo shouted.

Just then, the mare turned around, and her eyes met those of the three fillies, who gasped and, in a panic, fell over on top of each other before they could hide.

"Dagnabbit, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom groaned as she picked herself up off Sweetie Belle. The three fillies got to their hooves, and looked up as the unmasked heroine walked up to them, wearing a stern expression on her amber-colored face.

"Didn't I tell you three it's getting late, and you should get home?" she asked.

A wide-eyed Scootaloo started babbling incoherently while Apple Bloom just stared slack-jawed. The only Crusader who managed to get actual words out of her mouth was Sweetie Belle.

"Sunset Shimmer... you're the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well?!"

Author's Note:

Chapter 8 comes to a close as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, once again trying to earn their cutie marks, accidentally discover who the pony behind the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well is! :pinkiegasp:

The next chapter will reveal details about Sunset Shimmer's life before she met Twilight Sparkle, and the events that changed her life forever as she discovers just how truly magical friendship is. Stay tuned for Chapter 9: Wayward Sun! :twilightsmile: