Canterlot. If you ever wanted to raise a family, this would have been the place. But not anymore. These days, Canterlot is infested with crime and murder, with police struggling to maintain order and control in a city gone mad.

But from the darkness, a bolt of black lightning is shot. The police are afraid of her. The populace is afraid of her. Criminals are afraid of her.

The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well has appeared to take back Canterlot from its tormentors...

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
While this story is obviously based on Batman, it's based on EVERY PART of Batman: the darker tones of Christopher Nolan and Frank Miller, with the adventurous wit and charm of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the twisted visions of Jeph Loeb and Tim Burton, and even a little bit of Adam West camp. Who knows? Maybe even other heroes will show up...

Life in St. Saddle isn't too hard. Sure there's the supervillains around, but at the same time, pretty normal. Right?

Rarity tries to forget that she's dealt a hand she didn't want to be dealt, but as the events of Mare Do Well have come back to Ponyville, she realizes she can't outrun her Uncle Drake any longer. Even if it means being so distraught you can't even utilize your fainting divan properly.

A story set in season 2, a couple of weeks after The Mysterious Mare Do Well, fusion with the IDW depiction of Darkwing Duck from Issue 8 of MLP Micro.

The time of heroes is long over. Those who didn't get out of the game while they still could were taken out, finding themselves in prison or in a shallow grave. Anyone can put on a mask, but actually being a hero, Equestria learned, is easier said than done.

Evil didn't yield to the heroes even then. It adapted, raising its own masked champions to oppose the Vigilantes. But when the heroes left, the shadows stayed. Now, crime is out of control. No one dares to fight back. No one, that is, but one mare who takes up an old mantle to desperately try and hold back the darkness threatening to consume the city, and defend harmony.

Many years after the original Mare-Do-Well disappeared and mere weeks after the vigilante resurfaced in Ponyville for a short time, a pegasus named Aurora, who had studied and looked up to Mare-Do-Well her entire life, finally discovers the truth of what happened to her fillyhood idol. Taking up the costume and mantle of her hero in order to protect the sprawling metropolis of Manehatten, Aurora faces crime as the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

When you feel like giving up, just remember that it took one titan to hold the sky, one princess to raise the sun, and one hero to save this city.

Part One of the Red Hoof Trilogy

It's been five long years since Snow Storm lost her brother, Frost Storm, to a street gang. Five years since she packed up and left Manehattan, searching for meaning or possible closure.

And now, she's back.

Thanks to an idea from Applejack, and years of rigorous training, she's returned to Manehatten as the Mare do Well. Now she'll have to draw the line between revenge and justice.

Credits:
Co-Author: Artimae
Co-Author: Post Script
Coverart courtesy of the amazingly talented: Starryfish

Cape and Cowl Trope page

This story is a sequel to My Little Investigations: The Gemstone Godfather

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the Princess of Friendship; one of the rulers of Equestria. There was once a time when I was called the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. I used this identity briefly to teach my friend Rainbow Dash a lesson in humility. Several moons after that incident, somepony else has taken up the mantle, using it to protect ponies who are in peril. Very few ponies know the true nature of this enigmatic mare; I among them. The only thing known for certain is that she is a true hero.

But now, she has gone mad. Or at least, that's what we're supposed to believe after she allegedly crashed this year's Grand Galloping Gala. Personally, I'm not buying it. Like I said, I know this Mare-Do-Well. She would never do something like this. And as if to confirm my suspicions, there was a note left at the crime scene stating that an impostor is on the loose in one of four locations. Thankfully, I'm not alone in thinking this. My friends support me, and three ponies who have worked with Mare-Do-Well in the past agree that something is amiss.

This is their story as much as it is my own. Mare-Do-Well is our friend, and we have to be there for her just as she's been there for us. Whether she's in the Griffon Kingdom, Manehattan, the Mewlun Mountains, or here in Canterlot, we will find her and unmask her doppelgänger. Come along, Spike! The game is afoot!

The story we're about to tell you is real, although some details are ambiguous in nature. To emphasize this point, no names have been changed. It is also my duty to inform you that this tale contains subject matter that may be inappropriate for younger audiences. Viewer's discretion is strongly advised.

((Case 4 of the Mare-Do-Well Files. It's highly recommended that you read the other cases first; otherwise you will get confused.))

POV Codex:

T: Twilight Sparkle
S: Spitfire
O: Octavia
A: Amethyst Star
M: Multiple POVs in the same chapter