Follow the adventures of Sunset Shimmer as she dawns the identity of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well
Shortly after the events of the Fall Formal, Sunset Shimmer takes up the identity of a costumed crime fighter known as the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. Her juggle between her life as a crime fighter and the attempt to redeem herself to her fellow classmates will prove to be a difficult task for the former bully.
BLOOD COLORED BLUE - PART 1: A Typical Night for Sunset
The blood dripping down the corner of my mouth seeps through the fabric of the mask, and the leather of the gloves stick to the opening cuts on my knuckles. They surround me, five of them, all tired, bruised, bloodied, and pissed. Their stares are full of hatred as they carefully keep their distance from me. Ideally, I would be standing tall against them, unwavering and devoid of any fear or signs of strain. Like a relentless monster here to prey upon their sins and punish them for their corrupted deeds. But this isn’t an ideal world, and the grips of reality have caused this to be a less than ideal situation. I’m stuck in a corner, with one hand on the wall supporting my body, and the other pressed tightly against my abdomen, clutching what I assume are broken ribs. My fedora hangs low, and the purple tattered cape conceals my bloodied costume.
It had only been three weeks since I had dawned the persona of the mysterious Mare-Do-Well. A character that I had originally conceptualized as part of a plan to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson in arrogancy during her winning streak on the soccer team. But stopped when I realized that the last thing that I should do after the girls already hesitantly accepted me into their group, was meddle in their lives, even if it was with good intentions. Thankfully the other girls had a reasonable discussion with her and solved the issue in a normal manner. I guess I always had an itch for the theatrics, and now look where that has gotten me. Dressed up as some purple costumed crime fighter trying to help people as a way for what? To amend my past mistakes? To seek some sort of redemption or purpose within me? Or was it to stop my self-loathing and hatred for my past actions, and my realization that no matter how hard I tried to do good in the school and Canterlot Highs local community, no one would ever forget, let alone forgive.
But for the love of all things Celestia, how stupid could you be stupid Sunset Shimmer? Going around fighting criminals with the minimal karate experience and wits obtained back at Equestria is beyond foolish, yet here I am. Jumping into an abandoned building to fight five drug dealers. What a service to the community. Idiot.
The man to my furthest left wields a heavy, rusted chain. His body language indicates that he’s the most frightened out of the five. His footing is constantly shifting, and his eyes continually gaze from his partners to me. I can hear his breathing intensify, and see his tatted fingers clutch the metal links tightly. I keep my guard up, half expecting him to lunge at me out of some sort of misplaced desperation, like an animal attacking a predator out of fear. But my expectations are thwarted by the man in front of me. He charges at me with his bare knuckles, cocked back ready to explode. The pain in my ribs caused my reaction to be slow, and I barely managed to throw my arms up, blocking the full power of his fist.
The man with the chain takes this opportunity, and comes running towards me, spinning the end of the chain, preparing to swing it. A man with a metal baseball bat to my right comes charging at me as well. I want to attack both, but the pain in my body screams for my brain to shut down, and the guy in front of me won’t stop swinging. Without even thinking, I throw an uppercut at the gut of the one who’s in front me, a large trail of salvia and blood splashes on my arm. As he stumbles back in pain, I quickly attack the left thug with the chain. Noticing he was lunged a bit forward, a side kick was instinctively thrown, and the heel of my boot smashed against his nose. But the pain was so unbearable that I didn’t have time to react to the baseball bat wielding thug. I couldn’t turn around and attack him, and my burning ribs were preventing me from jumping away. So out of desperation, I raised my arm, bracing for the attack, and by Celestia it was an attack I was not prepared for.
He swung the bat and although my arm took a good portion of the attack, the tip of the bat landed on the side of my head, causing a loud smack to echo out into the room as the metal crashed against my skull. I tumbled away, as the pain in my head made the pain in my arm feel like nothing. My vision was starting to blur, and the world became dizzy. I couldn’t control my breathing, nor my footing. I could feel myself starting to black out. Amidst my daze, the thug next to him took the chance to charge at me. I could feel his giant mass pick me up off my feet, like a football player tackling me through the air. Before I knew it, I was chucked through the window, crashing through the glass. The cool breeze of the night could finally be felt, and through my blurred vision and aching head, I watched as the window grew smaller and smaller. The building was on a dock and thank Celestia that I fell into the Canterlot river. Being swept away by the ferocious current, my swing in and out of consciousness made the entire ordeal a hellish nightmare. The struggle to keep myself afloat took all of my remaining strength, for I knew that if I had let the water sink me, my body would surely have given up amidst the cold, desolate solitude of the river’s depth. Maybe that would have been the best outcome. The end of this silly childish game I have taken to playing. The world would have finally been rid of the she-demon Sunset Shimmer, and perhaps everyone would have celebrated that event. Maybe Pinkie would have thrown a party, cheering in the notion that they didn’t have to keep up the façade that Twilight had asked them to. Maybe the drug dealers of Canterlot could finally be rid of their minor annoyance.
But I think about that first night, and the little boy I had rescued from a collapsing house on fire. The pure joy in his eyes, and his never-ending gratefulness to be alive. It’s the only thought I need to use all my strength. My hand stretches out of the water, and through what could only have been described as a miracle, I grab onto the bars of a ladder. Once I’m on the dock, I take off the soaked fedora, lift my mask up halfway, and start puking out water. Breathless, I look up at the Canterlot skyline. The city is surrounded by a large land of suburbs. One that I choose to protect.
Wincing in pain, I slowly get off of my knees and onto my feet. Holding my side with one hand and clenching my fedora in the other.
“Way to go hero, you really showed them.”
CANTERLOT HIGH, TWO DAYS LATER
Thankfully the hateful stares at me had stopped last week. Now I’m more of a ghost walking through the school than anything. Still, any interaction I have with a student is met with a tone of either annoyance, hesitancy, or disgust. As I walk through the hallway, my body is still in pain. The bruises on my arms are dark and cover my entire forearm. Thankfully the sleeves of my leather jacket cover it, but I’d honestly doubt anyone would even ask. Another large knot is on the side of my head where I got hit with the baseball bat, but my hair is so thick that you could hardly even notice it. The only noticeable injuries are the bandages wrapped around my hands to stop the bleeding from my gashed knuckles, and the purple bruise around the corner of my mouth, along with a black eye. Still, I try to keep myself calm and composed, and walk in a straight line to my locker, speaking of which.
The red painted words “She-Demon” are splattered over my locker. I look around the hallway at the other students, all of which are either averting their gazes, or giggling amongst their groups. Princess Twilight really showed them the “magic of friendship” I think to myself with an eye roll. But I stop myself from continuing with those thoughts. These students have every right to do this to me. I have to remind myself that I’m the bad guy, and they’re the victims. So, I just sigh to myself and open my locker, grabbing whatever it was I had come to get. That was when a charming voice with a distinctive country flair grabbed my attention.
“Aw shucks sugercube. They graffitied over your locker again? I had told vice principle Luna about it, but I reckon they just haven’t gotten around to catching them. I’ll stay with you after school to clean it off,” Applejack said from behind me. A slight smile escaped my mouth, followed by a sharp pain from the bruise. Applejack had such a way of showing kindness to people. She was the first of the girls to give me a chance. To show me the love and kindness that I had robbed from them a year ago. Even now, the other girls still haven’t entirely opened up to me, just her. My heart aches anytime she talks to me.
“Thanks Applejack, but it’s okay. Honestly, I’ll probably just keep it on this time,” I said closing my locker door and turning around to face her. Her smile dropped quickly when she saw my face, and was replaced with a look of concern.
“Oh my, sugarcube what happened?” she asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I smiled at her before moving away.
“It’s nothing, just bumped into a wall is all." We started walking down the hallway to the music room where the other girls were.
“Just like last week? Listen, Sunset, I know you probably don’t think we care for you, but we do. Is someone hurting you? I know the bullying has slowed down, but still. Be honest with me.” I hate myself for getting annoyed. For getting irritated that this kind and caring person is trying so hard to be there for someone as horrible as me. I don’t deserve any of that. I honestly deserve to be in prison for what I did. Principal Celestia found it somewhere in her heart to take pity, and not press charges or get the authorities involved since no one was hurt, other than me of course. Princess Twilight decided to not involve Equestrian justice or Celestia after the fall formal. She had complete faith in her friends that they could reform me, and that I didn't deserve punishment, but rather a second chance. But honestly, I should really be dead in some alley.
“I’m being honest Applejack, everything is okay. Let’s just get to the music room to see whatever it is that Rainbow wanted to show us. That girl practically spammed our group chat about today,” I said while fake laughing, trying desperately to move on from the conversation. AJ just stared at me for a bit with concern, before changing the topic. Though I could still hear the worry in her voice.
“Well, I reckon that crazy girl has gotten herself into another ridiculous situation, and just wants to rope us into it,” Applejack exclaimed. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself. AJs and Dash’s banter was always fun to hear, because despite the constant back and forth, I knew just how much they cared for one another. I can’t believe I tried so hard to kill off such a special friendship. Suddenly the bruises feel worse, and I feel hollower. We eventually arrived at the music room. Even from behind the door, we can hear Pinkie’s rapid firing of utter nonsense. Me and AJ just smiled at each other. If Pinkie ever stopped talking, that would be a sign of something we should be concerned about. After giggling to ourselves like two little girls, we enter. Rainbow grins as she sees AJ, before rolling her eyes and hopping off the chair she was sitting in.
“Finally. Could you be any slower cowpoke?” Dash teases. AJ rolls her eyes before dropping her bag off in front another chair.
“My bad girls, Mr. Cranky kept us up for a bit after the bell. Trixie wouldn’t stop being annoying, and the whole class had to suffer because of it.” The other girls just groaned.
“I swear, that Trixie can be such troublesome for the rest of the school,” Rarity commented.
“Yer tellin me. I’m pretty sure she’s the one who graffitied your locker sugercube,” AJ said, giving me a look of such genuine concern that it would have melted anyone’s heart. I crossed my arms and leaned against the door. I still never felt fully comfortable being in the same room as the girls.
“Yeah, I already know it’s her,” I said. AJ just blinked at me blankly, no doubt puzzled as to why I haven’t done anything about it.
“How do you know that, Sunset? Why haven’t you done anything about it?” AJ asked, a bit of irritation was hinted in her voice. I just gave her a weak smile. Mainly because I was exhausted.
“Well, she’s not hurting anyone. And besides, I know I’m not too high on Principal Celestia's list of priorities. Trixie is a star student here, and well, I’m a monster.” The look on AJ’s face completely shifted. I could tell that she was not happy with what I just said. As I looked around the room, none of the girls bothered to object to my statement, which was not to my surprise really. In fact, most of them were just averting their gazes. I wasn’t stupid, I know no one wanted to talk to me about it, let alone talk to me period. If I’m being completely honest, I feel AJ is the only reason why the girls even bother to drag me around. From what I can tell, Rarity and Pinkie feel indifferent towards the entire situation. Though they’re slowly starting to engage with me on some small level. Mainly bouncing off of whatever me and AJ are talking about. Rainbow and Fluttershy I feel still have some level of resentment. I think Rainbow is just annoyed with my presence and Fluttershy I know still is completely distrustful of me. I know she doesn’t hate me, but she’s far from forgiving me. Which makes sense, I was utterly cruel towards her. Honestly, I think I bullied her most. Putting her down so harsh that…well…I think I killed her self esteem until Twilight reunited the friends once more. Not only did I treat everyone in this room like they were nothing more than dirt under my feet, but I also shattered their entire friendship. I played with these girls’ feelings. Put them down and pulled apart their entire worlds. A small part of me wishes the guys had killed me back on the docks.
So far AJ is the only one who is willing to talk to me, even without the other girls present. Whenever me and her talk about something, the rest of the girls just keep quiet. I usually just end up trying to brush off the conversation, not wanting to interrupt their friendship that I no doubt am hindering. Afterall, how are you to catch up on lost time with your best friends when the one who caused that lost time is in the same room as you.
But unlike most times, Rainbow was staring intently at me, and before AJ could respond to my statement of obvious self-deprecation, Dash made a comment.
“Whoa. Hey Shimmer, you, okay? Your face is looking pretty messed up.” There wasn’t much, but there was a small hint of concern present in her voice. I don’t know why I was so taken aback by this. Afterall these girls may feel some sort of resentment towards me, but they’re not monsters. They are still kind and caring people. Not degenerate scum like me or the filth that try to kill me every night. Am I really so full of self-loathing that I completely thought that no one would question the bruises on my face? I’m being careless with this.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s all good, don’t worry about me. Anyways, what was it that you wanted to tell AJ and the rest of the girls?” I tried so hard to move on from the subject, even attempting to cover up the less clean side of my face with my hair. I could feel AJ’s look of worry burning holes in the side of my head. I couldn’t bare to return the look. Pinkie and Rarity just looked at each other, neither of them looked to pleasant at the sight of me. Even Pinkie wasn’t smiling anymore. Fluttershy even slightly looked at me from behind her pink flock of hair, which is an act she solemnly ever does. Any time I see her, she will always avoids eye contact with me. The negativity inside of my own head just assumes they’re giving me looks of pity. I continue to give Rainbow a fake smile, waiting for her to get to her point.
After she looks at me for a while, she slowly speaks up, agreeing to move on from the topic. Still the concern in her eyes is fixated on me.
“Well, like I hinted in the group chat last night, what I wanted to tell you guys is that I decided I wanted to start a band. I even came up with the name, the Rainbooms!” Soon, Rainbow’s usual joy and enthusiasm returned to her voice as she went on and on about the ideas she had for her band. Though I could tell she was trying hard to avert her gaze towards me. I went ahead and made it easier for her and just sat down on the floor with my back still up against the door. Eventually, Pinkie and Rarity put their focus on Dash. But I could see AJ and surprisingly even Fluttershy give me worried looks every now and then. I decided to shut it out, as I let the girl’s conversation play in the background like a sort of soothing rhythm. Hearing them have fun while I sit in the background was always my preferred dynamic for this relationship. Sorry Twilight. Besides, I had to think about tonight.
After Friday night, I had spent the weekend trying to find those same five guys from the drug deal I had crashed and had gotten my own ass handed to me at. But that had proven to be more difficult than I had originally thought. Through further investigations, I had managed to find where one of those guys hung out frequently. In downtown Canterlot, there’s a bar on the outskirts where most of the low lives frequently visit. That’s where I find my guy. More specifically, the one that swung a baseball bat at me. I found out that he was the primary one that handles imports of drugs from outside of the United States. I believe that this is another operation of Spoiled Rich, the wife of filthy rich and abusive mother of Diamond Tiara. I was already trying to build a case against her, as I knew of her other illegal activities in Canterlot, much to the cluelessness of Filthy. I had wanted to get personal with Filthy to discuss where the other shares of his wealth go into, but the security of his penthouse is a little more difficult to penetrate than I had originally anticipated. Still, there were two names that I had frequently heard during my weekend investigation. I had learned that the guy I’m going after tonight answers directly to an individual named Prince Blueblood, which all but confirmed my theory of Spoiled Rich’s involvement. He was an aristocrat who had just graduated from Crystal Prep Academy. A playboy millionaire who was Canterlots prince charming. I knew about him from Rarity, as she was always going ga ga for him whenever she saw him in a magazine or out in public. But I had known he was working for Spoiled Rich in some illicit activities. Still, I don’t have enough to go after him personally. But hopefully I can put a dent into this drug ring to really hurt their wallets. But that leads me to the second name that I keep hearing of. A name that I don’t recognize. But from what I can tell, he is a powerful crime lord in the state of Washington.
The Kingpin known as Sombra… Looks like I’ll be busy tonight.
BLOOD COLORED BLUE - PART 2: Within the Depths of Hell
To describe the back alleys of Canterlot as a maze from Hell could honestly be considered an understatement. Now, something to note about Canterlot is that most would not consider this fair city as a dangerous place. In fact, it’s quite often referred to as one of the best places to live in the state of Washington. Canterlot High even has quite a high reputation, regardless of what Crystal Prep says. I mean let’s be honest with ourselves here, if your main competition is Crystal Prep Academy, then that must be a good sign of high quality, right? However, when referring to the glamours of high prestige that Canterlot has to offer, and the driving force behind people’s desire to settle down in this fair city, it’s always in reference to the suburban neighborhoods. It’s no secret that the comfort and safety, and especially the quietness, is always looked highly upon in Canterlots suburbs. There is a strong sense of community, especially now with the students of Canterlot High bonding together after I tried ever so hard to tear them down. However, unlike the Canterlot back at Equestria, the one here hides a sinister side. A side that no one ever talks about. You see, no one ever praises the city’s urban downtown area. Far below the high rises of wealth represented by high society clubs and penthouses, lays a foundation of slums and alleyways that make up a criminal element, poisoning the city like dying roots to a tree.
I know to someone coming from Equestria, it’s a hard concept to believe. Afterall, this world could be seen as a mirrored version of the world back in Equestria. But unfortunately, a similar meritless of society does exist there too. Though, you won’t find it in places like Ponyville or even Canterlot. But go down any alley after midnight in Fillydelphia and Manehattan, and you’ll see a far darker side of Pony life. Of course, it’s nowhere near as awful as here since the main threats of magical entities and near demigods make the aspect of organized crime an almost laughable concept. But unfortunately, there are no magical threats here to distract the human mind. Such things are viewed as mere fallacies. Well, they were until my dumbass came and screwed everything up. I can only hope that my idiocy in acting out what could be best described as nothing more than a tantrum will be the only signs of magic this world will ever have to suffer through. Besides, when it comes to places like the one I find myself in tonight, one can understand that this world has enough of its own problems.
As my……friends are at home studying or getting ready to go to bed on this quiet Monday night, I’m here slowly walking down one of the many alleys that reside under the mountainous skyscrapers. The dark cloak that conceals my body allows me to move smoothly within the shadows. Down each trash ridden alley is a human zoo of druggies doped out of their mind, homelessness trying to sleep next to roach infested dumpsters, and hookers so drunk and high that they’re in corners mumbling to themselves. Despite walking past them looking like a jackass from the circus, they don’t acknowledge my presence. Their minds are so far gone that I must be nothing more than a fading shadow to them. Just a mere ghost passing through the jumbles of the knotted memories of a life that they had abandoned or had been forgotten by. I remember earlier today, right as the last bell rang, Applejack came up to me and said that we were all going to go to the cake’s bakery for some shakes. It’s a popular hangout spot for students, no matter what day it is. I had told her that I couldn’t, as I had something planned for the evening. Some school related excuse, I don’t remember. I just remember her disappointed look. I swear, she was about to reach out her hand and tell me something, but I quickly just walked away from her. I’m such a selfish bitch. But I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. AJ and the rest of the girls deserve a break from the awful Sunset Shimmer. They deserve to be with people they love and cherish, in the comforts of safety and home. I don’t deserve any of that. This is where I belong. In a cold dark alley at midnight with societies’ rejects, forever damned and abandoned.
After navigating the endless cesspool of a maze, I arrive at my destination. Down a corner of one of the many alleys is a bar. The broken sign that reads “Destination Dead End” hangs loosely above a pair of saloon styled swinging doors. The window to the right of the doors is already broken, while the left is yellow and faded. I look down the alleyway behind me. There’s nothing but rats emerging from a wall of pitch blackness the covers the hell hole. Looking up, my eyes are met with the towering skyscrapers. A thick layer of smog covers the sky, and buildings tower past the polluted clouds. Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself and enter through the swinging doors.
The bar itself was in a decent sized room. It was a standard saloon styled bar, though it was much more decrepit and run down. Four single flickering lightbulbs were all that illuminated the horrors within. Trash, bottles and passed out drinkers lay all over the floor. I couldn’t see well, but it seemed like blood, vomit and what I’m assuming is fecal matter in the corners, were all over walls and floors. The area had a sort of dark green tint to it, and the buzzing of the lights and squeaks of hidden rats were the only sounds infesting the area. It appeared that any time a debacle occurred within this facility, it would never be cleaned up, as evidence of prior fights were littered everywhere. It would always just remain as a sign of the establishment’s violent history.
To the right of me, the bar was almost empty. The small lightbulbs were flickering so bad that the right side was almost pitch black. Though I could see two people squatted in shit muttering to themselves in the corner. I’m still not quite sure what higher being these people look up to, as it’s certainly not Celestia, but whomever it is, I don’t think they’re down here with me.
To my left, two guys are seated at the bar, conversing with the bar tender. They’re all laughing and gossiping as if this environment is a completely normal state of reality. I believe the bar tenders name is rusty cup. He’s a skinny orange fellow with thinning hair, missing teeth, and whiskers all over his face. I know he’s owned this establishment for years. How he’s been able to operate it is beyond me. I’m not sure who one of the individuals is sitting at the bar. He’s also a skinny little thing with grey skin, shaggy hair, and yellowish eyes. He’s wearing a green button up shirt and has a red tie. He almost looked like…. a goat. I assumed he was the brother of the guy I was looking for, since they looked identical. Speaking of which. Seated right next to the grey individual was the same man who slugged me with a baseball bat last Friday. As I said, he looked identical to the man next to him, though his skin and hair where a dirty white, and he was wearing a brown button up shirt with a blue tie. Still, it didn’t matter if his own mother was sitting next to him, the dirtbag had some questions to answer.
“Nah, so get this, I tell this bitch, listen, I’ll sell you this entire canister of enhanced protein. Take it, and you’ll feel unstoppable,” the white man said.
“No way, and she actually fell for it?” The bartender asked, cleaning out a shot glass with a towel.
“Hell, yeah, she did. I scammed that stupid ass broad into buying a whole canister of sugar. She actually thought it was some enhanced protein powder. I’m telling you man, go to anyone with low self-esteem, and you can trick their dumbass into believing a fucking jar of lemonade is God’s piss”, responded the white male. Rusty and the grey man both howled in laughter, but quickly stopped when they saw my shadow engulf them.
“What? What are y’all staring at?” The white man turned around, and the look of horror on his face upon seeing me was priceless. Before He could get a word out, I smacked my hand on the side of his face and slammed it onto the bar, causing his drink to fly off of the wood. Rusty and the grey man both stood up, clearly not knowing what to do.
“If you try anything, I’ll make sure you eat through a straw for the next two months,” I warned, trying my best to sound intimidating. I’ve been trying to make my voice raspy and whispery whenever I’m out as the Mare-Do-Well. Whatever can convey the image of a ghost put on this earth to reap the deeds of evil that these scum have sown. But I’m still trying to find confidence in it. Regardless it seemed to work. Rusty jumped over the bar and ran out the door, disappearing into the black hole that consumed the alley. Meanwhile, the grey man ran to the bathroom. I grin to myself at successfully scaring them off.
“Alright Gary, you didn’t think I forgot about the bat you hit me with,” I snarled while slamming my fist into the bar. Thankfully he was skinny as a twig, and easy to manhandle. I could feel his body shaking in fear beneath my palm. “Where were drugs from that warehouse coming from?” I demanded, trying my best to sound cold and evil. Not evil like a she-demon or a spoiled brat who bullied her fellow students into submission, but rather like a hellspawn that has risen from the dead. I wanted to sound like something that wasn't even alive.
“I don’t know, I swear to God I don’t know. We were just there to pick it up before you arrived. I have no idea where it was from or who the buyer was,” He pleaded. I slammed my fist harder, this time slamming it closer to his face.
“LIE TO ME AGAIN,” I yelled. I could feel his body trembling harder, and his breathing quickening. “WHERE DID BLUEBLOOD GET THE DRUGS, WHO ARE HIS BUYERS. ANSWER ME DAMNIT.” Amidst my harsh questioning, I felt the clutches of large, almost iron-like hands wrap themselves around my arm. Without any warning, I was being thrown across the room, right onto a table in the dark side of the bar. My body crashed right through it, and I could feel the metal pole that held the wooden table up jab through my side as I broke through the wood. The sound of heavy footsteps started coming towards me. Slowly, I propped myself up, wincing in pain. Although you couldn’t tell behind the mask, my face was in utter fear upon staring up at my assailant.
Standing above me was a hulking brute. He must’ve stood at least seven feet tall. His chest was wide and muscular, I could see his pecs flexing underneath his white button up shirt. The buttons on his shirt seemed to be holding together for dear life, as his abs and shoulders pulsated through the clothing. His bulging biceps were as big as my entire torso, and his neck was thicker than a fire hydrant. He made Bulk Biceps at school look like nothing more than a kid. His skin was a dark navy blue, and his blue hair was in the style of a long mohawk. A large septum piercing dangled from his nostrils, and the clads of his boots echoed across the bar. With one hand he removes his sunglasses, revealing crazed, yellow eyes, and with his other hand he slowly loosens the black tie around his neck. He smiled at me with a wicked grin, flexing his monstrous muscles, no doubt for intimidation.
Well, it’s working.
I could see the two guys poke their heads out from behind the monster, now snickering to themselves as they stare at me with hate. The giant then speaks, in a low, deep voice full of hostility and rage.
“Looks like Iron Will has just found a new punching bag”.
I consider myself as someone who has experienced plenty of pain before. Back at Equestria, in pursuit of knowledge during my tenure as Princess Celestia’s pupil, I’d put myself in needlessly dangerous situations. Training myself to handle different types of powerful magic, and turning myself into a skilled fighter, much to Celestia’s dismay. You see, I wanted to be dangerous. I wanted to be someone that ponies feared, and I wanted to use all the power and skills I had acquired for selfish purposes. But my point is, I’ve felt pain before. Even during the Fall Formal, the magical blast that Twilight and her friends had shot at me didn’t exactly tickle. If I wasn’t in the form of corrupted magic that I was in at the time, I would’ve surely been turned into ash. I say all this so as to not undermine my pain tolerance. To highlight that I’m used to damaging my body and feeling agony. But the pain I had been feeling as the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well was something else. Something indescribable. For the past three weeks, I’ve been ganged up on, beaten with bats. crowbars, brass knuckles and kicked with steel toe boots. In a way it’s exhilarating, but unbearable at the same time. Still, none of the beatings could ever live up to the one I was experiencing tonight.
All I remember after being tossed across the bar by a man named Iron Will, was being hurled out of the window next to the door. Have I mentioned how awful it is to be thrown through windows? I’m not sure why, but I always had this preconception that making harsh contact with any glass object wasn’t painful. After all, in the movies the hero would always make dramatic entrances by smashing through windows, and I will admit that I have made dramatic entrances in such a manner. I would feel a little sharp sting throughout my legs, but the pain subsided shortly after. However, that is not the same as being picked up and forcefully chucked through one. It always feels like my backs on fire afterwards, and It’s difficult to stay in conscious, especially if the only cushion you have on the other side is concrete.
I felt my body crash onto the concrete floor, and skid across it until a metal dumpster halted my painful slide across the ground. A cool breeze tickled my exposed skin, as my sleeve had torn apart. I really should look into leather since the thin cloth tore so easily. It didn’t help that anytime my costume was damaged, I did a poor job at stitching it up. All throughout my uniform was tracks of stitches holding it together. Especially on my mask and cape. My fedora was already having tears. It’s times like these I wish Rarity knew who I was. She’d have this uniform look brand new every night.
With a surprising amount of difficulty, I managed to stand up from the ground, though my vision was already starting to blur. The injuries I had sustained during the previous nights still haven't healed, so my body wasn't in the best condition already. The swinging doors to the bar flung open, and the hulking giant slowly emerged from the disheveled bar. His eyes seemed to be completely white under the night sky. My heart was pounding out of my chest as he walked towards me. I had to move, but the aching pain in my joints told me to shut down. Eventually he was standing over me, cracking his knuckles one by one. Despite his massive size, he was fast as a snake. I couldn’t even process the speed of his movements. Within the blink of an eye, his massive hand was gripping my entire face, blowing my fedora off my head.
I could feel blood starting to pour out of my nose and eyes as his grip tightened around my face, and my muffled screams made me seem like nothing more than a child. His grip tightened even harder, and my body was being lifted from the ground. My pathetic attempts to punch at his massive forearms only made him laugh. After dangling me for a bit like a worm on a fishhook, he proceeded to slam me back and forth onto the dumpster and the wall. I could feel my ribs break, and my body going numb as I was slammed against metal and concrete. I was beginning to drown in my own blood, as more and more of my own red fluid was gushing out of my mouth and nose. Eventually, he stopped, and threw me again at one of the buildings windows. Crashing through it, my back collided with the bars of a metal walkway. Attempting to pick myself up, a sharp crack echoed from my back, and I howled in pain. I think I relocated a dislodged bone. The blood was seeping though my mask, and my breathing was heavier than ever. With my tired eyes, I scanned my surroundings. I was on top of a metal catwalk with the window right next to me. It appeared I had been thrown into the basement of one of the buildings, where what looked like a smelting factory was located. Although it was dark, the fuzzy moonlight from the window gave me a good look at the area.
It was a large factory, with furnaces, conveyor belts and smelting equipment all over the place. My mind was lost in the sheer size of the factory, but my focus quickly snapped back into reality as I heard Iron Will enter the catwalk through the broken window. I wanted to collapse so bad, but if I didn’t get out of this situation, I’d surely be dead.
“I like your tenacity crusader, but it’s not enough. Iron Will is going to break you,” exclaimed the brute.
“Come on Sunset, get up. Get the Hell up you pathetic, useless piece of shit. Get up damnit,” I muttered to myself. With the support of the guard rails, I managed to get onto my feet. “You working for Prince Blueblood? Spoiled Rich? Or Sombra?” I tried to keep my Mare-Do-Well voice dominant, but it was difficult when all I wanted to do was scream in pain. Iron Will chuckled to himself as he began to unbutton his shirt.
“Well, you’re in the ballpark. My guy, Gary, told me about his encounter with you back on the docks. He works for me, but, well, I don’t need to tell you who we work for.” His muscles were now in full display as he threw his shirt over the guardrails. He began to dig through his pockets, and he pulled out a small box. Opening it revealed a syringe with some type of red liquid. His smile started to widen, and his voice was becoming cheerier. “You know, I never really get the chance to use this stuff. I always ask my boss if we could import more of this chemical, but he says it’s too much. I always want to use it, but everyone I fight ends up dead before I can get serious. So far, you’ve taken the beating, now we can have some real fun.” He lodged the needle into his arm and pressed down on it to inject the liquid. His chuckles slowly began to turn into maniacal laughter, and his muscles began pulsating. The red liquid could be seen traveling through his veins all over his body, and his size began to increase. His eyes were now all red. It had appeared that he was transforming into a true monster, a mutated juggernaut of some sorts.
“HAHAHAHAHA, IRON WILL IS GOING TO TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF.” The monster proclaimed. This was no time to worry about the state of my body, I had to move. Iron Will stomped his foot on the metal catwalk, and the poles holding us up instantly snaped in two. The catwalk was now caving in, and it was almost a two story drop to the factories floor. I grabbed onto one of the guard rails as I was now hanging on for dear life. I really need to get some sort of grappling hook. To my fear, I could hear Iron Will running towards my end from the other side of the now collapsed catwalk. The juggernaut leaped over the newly created pit, and with arms now bigger than my body, he wrapped them around me, pulling me away from the rails and towards the ground.
Thankfully he took the blunt of the fall, but pain was still felt everywhere. His grip loosened enough for me to slip out of his clutches and I plopped onto the floor. Quickly, I stood back up, ignoring the broken ribs that I had. It took him a second to get off his back, like a turtle trying to roll over. Eventually he did, and he stood as if nothing had happened. If I fell onto the floor like that, I would have surely been paralyzed. He grinned at me, and then took a running stance. My eyes widened, and immediately I jumped out the way. Iron Will charged right at me like a speeding bullet, crashing into the wall I was standing in front of. My jaw dropped at the hole in the concrete wall, and the hulking giant shook his head like it was nothing.
He then ran towards me again, throwing his giant fist at me. I dodged it, barley. The punch collided with the concrete floor, smashing a giant hole in it. I know that if one of those punches connected, it would been game over.
“Come on Sunset think. How am I going to beat this guy?”. I thought to myself. A straight up fist fight was out of the question. I’d probably just end up shattering my entire arm if I tried that. But I knew that I wouldn’t leave this place until I defeated him. Iron Will continued to wail at me. Throwing punch after punch. The only thing saving me from certain doom were the precious seconds it took for him to unclog his fist from the floor. Blood was spewing out of the large gashes of his split knuckles, though this barley seemed to phase him. Whatever was in that red liquid, it not only amplified his power, but it also seemed to make him immune to pain. Just what I needed.
It felt like minutes of just jumping away from each attack, narrowly avoiding the firestorm of cannonball sized fist hurling at me. Eventually, he had managed to back me into a wall. Taking no time at all, he hurled a right hook towards my head, but I managed to duck quickly, missing his fist by mere millimeters. The impact of his fist against the wall blew a hole in it, and rubble and small pebbles fell on my head. I had tried to run past him, but choked as I felt my cape being pulled. While one of his hands was logged into the wall, he tightly held onto my cape with the other. I tried desperately to take it off, but by the time I found my fingers, he had dislodged his other hand. With another howl of awful laughter, he grabbed onto my cape with both hands, and began to spin in circles at high speed. I was like the blade of a helicopter, suffocating from my own cape. Vomit began to erupt through my mask, now stained with blood. I couldn’t tell how long the giant meat head was twirling me, but eventually he let go, sending me flying to the roof. My head collided with one of the metal structural roof beams, no doubt leaving bloody gash across my forehead.
As I fell towards the ground, I crashed landed inside of a large smelting bucket hung from a crane on the roof. At this point the adrenaline took my mind off of the pain radiating from my broken body. While in a dazed state of mind, I managed to get to my feet and peak over the buckets rim, though it was difficult given the height. I had to use a lot of strength to pull myself up just so that my eyes could peer over. Iron Will was already climbing up the smelting equipment trying to reach me. There was no way I could get out of this thing without a rope or grappling hook, as I’d surely break my legs if I jumped out. But if he made it inside of this thing with me, he’d easily be able to beat me to death.
The bucket started to move rapidly, as if something was trying to pull it down. The sounds of heavy chains rattling told me that Iron Will had managed to grab onto one of the large, heavy metal chains that were dangling from underneath the bucket. Each time the bucket moved; I could tell he was slowly climbing up it. I looked up to what was keeping this thing suspended in the air. The bucket was attached to a large metal hook being lifted by steel cables. There was no way I was going to be able to move this thing. The hook and bucket alone must’ve weighed more than an eighteen-wheeler. But I could hear the chain rattling getting closer, and the buckets shift in weight told me that he was fast approaching. The impending approach of doom was when an idea popped into my head. A crazy, stupid idea.
Fighting the pain of my broken ribs, I pulled myself up from within the bucket and onto the rim. From there, I analyzed the metal hook. It was larger than I was, and bolted with a large screw that was the size of my torso. There was no way I was loosening it. But my eyes fell upon something else. Above the screw was a large safety pin that connected the cables to the hook. It was lodged in there and made of iron…but it seemed possible I could loosen it just enough for the cable to disconnect from the hook. The added weight of the mutated Iron Will was enough to drag this thing down if the pin was loosened. In other words, this heavy ass metal bucket would fall to the ground with Iron Will under it. Whether I survived was a different question, but one that I had no time, or choice, to ponder. I wasn’t sure if Iron Will would survive it. After the events of the Fall Formal, I don’t’ think I could live with myself as a murderer. Princess Twilight stopped me from being one, and I’ll be damned if I become one afterwards. Besides, I already hate myself enough. But, I was running out of options.
Using all of my remaining strength, I pushed both hands against the pin. At first, it seemed like an impossible task, but eventually I could feel the pin slowly slide as my muscles were being torn. My palms were starting to bleed against the metal, and my screams were escaping my mouth as my body was reaching its limit. Tears were soaking through my mask, and the bone in my arms were beginning to rattle. It didn’t help that all I had to stand on was the thin rim of the bucket. But the shaking underneath me as Iron Will was only a couple inches away from the bucket told me to use everything I had.
With a loud scream of desperation, I kicked my body into overdrive, giving the hardest push of strength I’ve ever given. I made the pin loosen more and more, until eventually the bucket began to sag. If it wasn’t for the weight of Iron Will, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplished it, but the pin flung right out of the socket, disappearing into the factory’s shadows. As the bucket began to unlatch from the cables, I jumped back inside it, and braced for impact. My stomach was turning into a knot, similar to when you drop from a high roller coaster. All I could see was that we were speeding down towards the ground. As the bucket crashed, the impact sent me flying out of it, and back onto the concrete floor. No doubt I had more broken bones. I laid there for a moment, wondering if I was dead.
I’m not sure why, but I thought of Princess Celestia. About how I took everything that she had to offer and spat it in her face. Sometimes I had dreams about going back to Equestria and begging her for forgiveness for my stupidity. Kneeling and bowing like a dog before her, hoping that she would take pity on a horrible creature like me. But I always received her laughter as an answer. I would raise my head, a miserable expression plastered on my face, and my eyes would meet Princess Celestia, accompanied by Princess Twilight. She would have the crown, proudly on top of her head, and she would stare at me with utter disgust. She and Princess Celestia would look at each other with looks of amusement.
“What should we do with her?” asked Twilight with a hint of pleasure in her voice. Celestia would look at me and giggle.
“I think that’s up to you Princess Twily. I would personally keep her as my pet, for that’s all she’s good for. Sending her to Tartarus would be too light. But she did try to damn you in the human realm, so maybe you should decide her punishment,” Celestia would always respond. Twilight would look back at me, and her smile would widen from ear to ear. Out of nowhere, her friends would appear around me. Dash, AJ, Rairty, Pinkie and Fluttershy would surround me, glaring down at me with eyes full of hatred. I would look up to Celestia and Twilight with desperate eyes. They would be on their thrones accompanied by Luna and Cadence, all laughing and giggling to themselves. I would then feel applejacks hooves buck my spine, paralyzing me from the waist down.
“I reckon you’re now as useless as ever Sunset,” AJ would tease. A blue magic choker would appear around my neck, forcing me to look up at its caster. Rarity would slam her hoof into my face, rubbing it aggressively in my eye.
“Oh Applejack, she isn’t Sunset. In fact, she isn’t even worthy of being considered a living creature. No, it is a she – demon,” Rarity would announce. Soon, the throne room would be full of all of Canterlot High, all laughing at me and cheering for the girls to finish me off. To exact their desires for revenge.
“KILL THE SHE – DEMON,” Flash Sentry would shout, now sitting right next to Twilight.
“YEAH, KILL IT,” Trixie would add. Eventually the chanting was unified, as the entire school had gotten together for this occasion.
“KILL THE SHE–DEMON, KILL THE SHE–DEMON, KILL THE SHE-DEMON,” they would all chant. With watery eyes, I would look over to Luna, begging her to end this nightmare. But all she did was laugh and inform her that this wasn’t a nightmare. That this was true justice. That this was what I deserved. Eventually the girls would all take turns beating me and tearing me apart limb from limb like savage animals. The school would then jump in, taking the opportunity to spit on my corpse and parade around the severed parts of my body. All of them were finally happy, rejoicing over the death of the she-demon. Twilight would use her magic to levitate my head towards her and the other princess’, smiling at my severed head as if she had won a trophy. She would then keep my head as a souvenir, placing it atop of her throne. I’ve had this same nightmare ever since the Fall Formal, and since this isn’t Equestria, there was no Luna to comfort me in my own thoughts of Hell. But I knew better. Even if she was there, she wouldn’t help me. Because I don’t deserve her help. I deserve to be locked in my own thoughts of self-guilt, and hatred. I deserve to view myself as nothing more than a putrid creature, deserving of death. I hate you, Sunset Shimmer. I think that’s why I always go out at night, to save myself from sleep. To keep myself from looking in the mirror and spitting at my own reflection. I hate looking at myself. I hate hearing my own voice. I hate being alive, it’s not fair to any of the people or ponies I’ve ruined. I was hoping I’d be dead, but the slow opening of my eyes disappointed.
I saw a dust cloud covering the crashed bucket. The cold ground sent a chill through my sleeveless arm. I tried to prop myself up, but a sharp pain ran through my body, causing me to cry out. Slowly, I got to my hands and knees, lifting my mask up halfway to cough out a large amount of blood. The red substance was leaking from my nose and mouth, and I’m pretty sure my eyes too. It took a while, but I managed to get myself onto my feet. One arm was pressed tightly against my abdomen, and my other hanging limply down my side, I limped over to the crash site. As the dust cleared, I saw Iron Will underneath a mountain of destroyed metal. Thankfully, I could see he was still breathing, though he was in bad shape. His nose ring was ripped out of his nostril and was laying right beside my heel, followed by a bloody trail back to Iron Will. With that, I took a deep sigh of relief, knowing that I had won the fight. But my moment of peace was interrupted by the sounds of someone climbing up the ladder to the catwalk behind me. Turning around, my eyes landed on the two guys from the bar. Gary and the other grey one. They must’ve followed us into the factory and watched our fight. But I wasn’t going to let either of them escape. I picked up a piece of the destroyed ground and aimed it at the grey man who was in front of Gary on the ladder. With my good hand, I threw the debris right at the grey one’s head. The hollow clock echoed around the factory as the concrete bounced off his head, knocking him out instantly. His limp body fell off the ladder, knocking Gary down with him. As they crashed onto the floor, I quickly limped over to them, kicking the grey man’s body off Gary, who was no doubt seeing stars right now.
Despite being a heap of pain, I still needed answers, or all this effort would be useless. I slammed my boot onto Gary's throat. Applying ample amounts of pressure as to not choke him to death, but still enough to where he struggled to breathe.
“You still have answers to give me”, I growled. This time I didn’t need to try to sound intimidating. I was just beyond pissed at this point that any word that escaped my mouth was covered in hostility and rage. Gary wrapped both his hands around my boot, trying to lift off some of the pressure, but I wouldn’t allow him.
“Okay, okay. Fuck me. Me, Larry and Iron Will answer directly to Prince Blue Blood. Right now he’s running a large trade deal of drugs from across the country”, Gary spewed out.
“Does he answer to Spoiled Rich? What does she want with drugs? It’s never been part of her MO,” I demanded.
“No, he doesn’t answer to Spoiled Rich. They both answer to someone higher. Neither of them really has interest in the drug market, but the man above them does." At this point, I applied more pressure on this throat.
“WHO?” I yelled.
“Sombra. The Kingpin Sombra.” He answered. A chill ran up my spine. Although I haven’t heard of him in this world, The name was familiar. I just didn’t know if we were talking about the same Sombra.
“What drugs were being shipped from the warehouse?” I asked, slightly releasing my boot from his throat. I have my theories, but I’m hoping I’m wrong.
“I don’t know. Seriously. But it’s something I’ve never seen before. Sombra found these dark crystals. No one knows from were. But the properties in them make you go…crazy. They turn you into a savage beast full of untapped power. What Iron Will just took was a sample of it”. My heart dropped, and my worst fear had come true. I lifted my foot and slammed the heel of my boot onto Gary’s face.
