Mare-Do-Well: Regeneration

Mare-Do-Well: Regeneration is a fan fiction novel written by Mark Garg Von Herb that is based on Mare-Do-Well from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic television series. The story follows Trixie, Pinkie Pie, and Shining Armor in a dystopic future where Equestria has a technological boom but is falling apart from political and social degredation.

Style
The story is written in present tense and focuses on Trixie, Pinkie Pie, and Shining Armor. It also relies on a series of dreams and flashbacks by the main characters to further their backstories, and a majority of chapters give a small explanation of what is happening behind the scenes either through a quick, basic narrative explanation, news blurbs, or radio broadcasts by Vinyl Scratch.

Plot
The story starts off with a short introduction where Mare-Do-Well, in an armored suit, was near death in a burning structure. When she confronted by a stallion in a robot suit, named Roar Shock, he made quick work of her and is about to execute her. But when he found out that Trixie was Mare-Do-Well he was visibly surprised. Then it cuts to one year earlier.

One year earlier, Trixie found herself in a town called Barnville, she was about to spend the night on the streets but was taken in by a deformed pegasus stallion named Sunshine Cloud. He took her to his place, which was also a local restaruant, and she met his sister, Scarlet Cloud. Trixie was quick to find out that Sunshine Cloud was not what he seemed after being confronted by another stallion named Gray Muffin. Trixie tried to escape, but ultimately became a hostage when she was knocked out from ingesting a type of fungus grown around the town called the "Healing Mushroom". Later on, she was almost raped by Sunshine but was saved by Gray Muffin. However, Gray Muffin killed Sunshine and almost left Trixie behind, but she convinced him to let her come with him.

Trixie is then told that if she wanted his help she'll have to find him, and after getting her instructions on where to go she was quick to find where Gray Muffin resided. Upon arrival she was almost beaten to death by Roar Shock as a form of training, but Gray Muffin stopped that from happening. After being treated, she went through a series of exercises such as doing pushups with tea kettles on her back or fighting blind folded. Her trainers were Gray Muffin, Roar Shock, and twin zebra brothers named Adanz and Wazza; they frequently had her as the subject of their often painful shinanigans.

Pinkie Pie's side of the story appeared when she tried to sell Nurse Redheart a blender, but their conversation was cut short when one of Roar Shock's agents, named Terra, visited and told her that she needed to return to the Citadel to patch up Trixie. The whole time Pinkie Pie spied on them and shefound out that Redheart was part of the League of Justice, which had been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks around Equestria that victimized military officials or crime bosses. She did extensive research on the LoJ over the span of ten years and Spike agreed to help her catch Redheart. Pinkie Pie then finds out that Redheart was tasked with assassinating the Mayor and when Redheart returned from healing Trixie she was led to Pinkie Pie's ambush by Spike; Pinkie Pie was wearing the Mare-D-Well costume at that moment. Redheart refused to talk and was handed over to the Local Guards for further questioning after Redheart vowed that the League will kill the Mayor and then find and kill her too. Redheart is killed by Terra soon after, after she posed as a lawyer sent by the state for her defense.

Shining Armor's arc started when he arrived at Ponyville the next day, tasked with protecting it from any attacks. Everything started out okay as Twilight helped set everything up fo peak efficiency, and Shining Armor, Twilight, and Spike have a short catch-up moment before resuming their work. Pinkie Pie donned her Mare-Do-Well costume and alerted Shining Armor of her presence via a sticky ball with a note attached shot at his head by a slingshot. When Terra attacked, she used an advanced weapon that fired electric bolts that could have it's strength and rate of fire modified. Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Shining Armor chase her down to a warehouse where she attempted to escape with some air support, but her support was shot down and fought the three, ending with Spike dead, Shining Armor crippled, and Pinkie Pie injured. Terra was believed to have been killed, but her body was never found. The event broke Pinkie Pie's friendship with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity.

Trixie soon started to hallucinate Sunshine and was then tasked by Gray Muffin to kill Mare-Do-Well after Roar Shock found out who Mare-Do-Well was by disguising himself as an EIB agent and interrogating Fluttershy and threatening to kill Big Mac if she didn't cooperate. He then blackmails Pinkie Pie into agreeing in a fight to the death with Trixie at a construction site. When Twilight found out she tried to get Pinkie Pie to reconsider and tried to fix their friendship, but Pinkie Pie forces Twilight to hide instead. When Roar Shock arrived with Trixie, Gray Muffin, and Adanz and Wazza, Gray Muffin went his own way and Trixie reluctantly agreed to fight Pinkie Pie. During the fight, Gray Muffin killed the Mayor and burned down the Town Hall and Trixie kicked Pinkie Pie off of the ledge, promting Twilight wanting to avenge Pinkie Pie. Twilight went into her super form where she turned into a fiery pony and Trixie, upon seeing Twilight, also went into her super form and the two fought each other with such ferocity that it leveled half of Ponyville and left Trixie nearly dead.

When Trixie woke up, she found herself a prisoner of the EIB at a prison called Singsong, she was then brought to EIB Director Brisk Wind and Shining Armor. When Trixie refused to give information about the League of Justice, Brisk Wind had her tortured with poisons created from healing mushrooms despite Shining Armor's objections, thus leading him to investigating the EIB. Trixie was kept in Singsong for over three weeks, and got into numerous prison fights that resulted in her being locked up in solitary and forced to take powerful prescription drugs to combat her hallucinations and to keep her calm. She was taken out of prison and put in a rehabilitation program under the personal supervision of a mare named Minty Sprinkles, whom claimed to be Princess Celestia's "Candy Associate". Trixie was taken to Canterlot and briefly met Lyra and overheard a conversation where Bon Bon's life was threatened by a pair of griffins who worked for Gilda named Winny and Grim.

Trixie and Minty spend the rest of the day visiting Celestia, getting a job spot for Fancypants' company, Fancy Entertainment. But the visit with Celestia didn't go well for Trixie and Minty turned out to be Pinkie Pie in disguise and got permission from Celestia to train Trixie so she can stop the LoJ's next attack. During Trixie's imprisonment, the Royal Guards destroyed the League of Justice's headquarters, but Shining Armor and Brisk Wind realized that Roar Shock was alive and agreed to help one another so capturing him would be easier. However, Shining Armor used that cooperation tactic as a ploy to get closer to information that would help him in his investigation. Later on, Pinkie Pie retrieves a package she mailed to Octavia before she faked her death while retaining her disguise.

When Trixie finally gets the chance to do so, she leave Pinkie Pie behind in their apartment, dressed in cheap sheets and tries to save Bon Bon, and after fighting a small group of griffins she realized she was too late. Pinkie Pie also trailed Trixie and dragged her back to the apartment. There Trixie had another encounter with Sunshine and started on her road to her addiction.

The next day, Trixie began her new job and faced a lot of hostility from her supervisor and the pony they were helping, a zebra-unicorn named Monte Fountain, tried to convince Trixie to work for him. It didn't work. Monte is then asked by Octavia to relay a message to Gilda, offering to pay her to bring her Minty and Trixie so she can kill them herself for killing Pinkie Pie. It is then revealed that Gilda was blackmailed into working as the EIB muscle so that they can do things no other agent can do, and Brisk Wind's top agent, Lock N. Key, ordered Gilda to scare witnesses against the EIB into not testifying, and in return he would take care of "the Vigilante". Pinkie Pie also met up with an ibex that worked for Iron Will named Ink Well and she and him talked about a business deal regarding an advanced Mare-Do-Well suit. Pinkie Pie told him that she can easily get the money to build the suit. After she ended the conversation she ran into Rainbow Dash but left before they can talk; however, Rainbow Dash recognized Pinkie Pie. As for Shining Armor, after a hard day at work he got a surprise visit from Twilight and she explained to him that the EIB was building a hub in Ponyville, as well as a hub for its sister agency, the Civilian Defense Agency (CDA). The agency wasn't fully operational yet. He also found out that Applejack started a massive wave of protests against the Equestrian government when they siezed control of her farm and that there was almost a clash between the Royal Guards and locals.

Pinkie Pie gained more information about Gilda and why she killed Bon Bon by interrogating a captured griffin, and while doing that, Trixie went out on another patrol and confronted a gang of mares harassing Pipsqueak. Trixie beat them all up and left them for the Night Guards, but was horribly injured in the process and was forced to eat a healing mushroom. During her rest it is revealed through a dream by a reoccuring character named Custos that Roar Shock murdered her father. The dream terrified her and when she woke up, screaming, Pinkie Pie came to her aide and Trixie condemns her for using the mushrooms on her when she found out about them. She also got an anxiety attack, her addiction to the pills got worse, and she discovered a better costume that Pinkie Pie made for her; it was armored and looked a lot like the Mare-Do-Well suit. After Trixie took her pills she experienced pure hapiness and challenged Pinkie Pie to a wrestle. The wrestle prompted Pinkie Pie to remember a conversation she had with Applejack about Mare-Do-Well and started to doubt that Mare-Do-Well can be used as a symbol of heroism.

At the Pre-Gala, Shining Armor is subjected to a stressful interview with a reporter named Quill Pen and confronted Brisk Wind about her giving him ruined files. Rarity was also at the party with Twilight and Cadence and Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash left after having an argument with her friends about Pinkie Pie. Shining Armor got drunk and made a fool of himself later that night and cussed out Brisk Wind. Brisk Wind also paid Quill Pen and a bunch of waitresses to interview Shining Armor and get him drunk.

A couple of days later, Trixie found out from Lock that the League of Justice is dead when he interrogated her about her vigilantism. Trixie has a mental breakdown as she was overwhelmed with grief and Sunshine made his appearance known to Trixie again, almost causing her to OD on her pills, but Pinkie Pie was able to prevent that from happening and calmed her down. Then Pinkie Pie took her down to Shining Armor and Trixie agreed to testify against the EIB and Celestia forced Pinkie Pie to tell her friends of her survival in two days, lest she wanted to see Trixie imprisoned. Rainbow Dash was interviewed by Shining Armor for a secret government project called the "Chrysaor Program", and when she left his office she confronted Pinkie Pie, but it ended in tears as Pinkie Pie denied everything, from her name to knowing Rainbow Dash. Brisk Wind and Lock also found Ink Well and killed him when he called Brisk Wind a terrorist.

A day later, Applejack went missing and Pinkie Pie and Trixie had an argument as Trixie accused Pinkie Pie of manipulating her for her own amusement. Then the griffins and EIB don't a joint strike on the apartment led by Lock and when they tried to fight their way out, Pinkie Pie snapped and her alter ego, Pinkamena, surfaced and she brutally beat down an entire hallway of EIB agents and griffins. It was at that time that Trixie realized that Minty was actually Pinkie Pie, and when she tried to talk some sense back into her Lock interferes. Pinkie Pie confronted him, giving Trixie some time to flee, but Pinkie Pie was knocked out by Lock and he caught up to Trixie. A short, brutal fight ensued and she barely escaped with her life and fled to Vinyl Scratch's radio station/home for safety.

Pinkie Pie woke up in a warehouse surrounded by griffins and hanging from a ceiling, wrapped in a chain cocoon. She found out that Octavia mistook her for being one of those responsible for Pinkie Pie's death. After being beaten half to death by Octavia, she was confronted by Winny and then by Lock. Winny was disgusted by Octavia's brutality and Lock wanted Pinkie Pie long enough to figure out who she was. When Lock found out though, using a mind reading spell, he was shocked and before he can do anything to stop the murder Rainbow Dash attacked. While Rainbow Dash fought the griffins and agents, Pinkie Pie broke free as Pinkamena, she knocked out Winny and beat Lock to death. She was then shot by Octavia and when Octavia realized who Pinkie Pie really was, she tried to stop the bleeding but was beaten to death by Rainbow Dash for what she had done. Rainbow Dash escaped with Pinkie Pie and carried her to the nearest hospital, where she slipped into a coma. When Winny woke up and tried to warn Gilda about what happened, but she was confronted by Lyra and other League of Justice ponies. Lyra executed Winny for murdering Bon Bon and the other LoJ ponies make sure there were no survivors in the warehouse. Ends with one of the zebra twins telling Lyra that Roar Shock would be proud of her.

Characters
Trixie Lulamoon

Trixie

One of the main characters of the story. She started off as barely scraping by after the events of Boast Busters, and after almost getting raped by Sunshine Cloud she was taken in by Gray Muffin and he trained her to become an agent of the League of Justice. During her training she was forced to drop her "third pony talk" and went through grueling exercises that sometimes led to her being ambushed in the hallways. Later on, Trixie started experiencing hallucinations of Sunshine Cloud, was visited by Custos in her dreams, and became addicted to perscription drugs. When she was in Canterlot she was determined to make her mentor proud so she took up a costume made by Minty Sprinkles/Pinkie Pie to fight crime. But unfortunately for her, her activites drew unwanted attention from the Gilda and the Equestrian Investigation Bureau and it almost lead to her being killed when the EIB and Gilda work together to take her down.

Throughout the story it is explained that Trixie had major family and school problems and that her grudge with Twilight Sparkle goes back to her childhood. She was also determined to show everyone that she was not worthless or a failure.

Pinkie Pie/Minty Sprinkles

Pinkie Pie

Another main character of the story. She tried to start her own business selling blenders, but she also tried to figure out a way to stop the League of Justice. She retained her bubbly attitude for most of the beginning, but after the LoJ's attack on Ponyville, leading to the death of Spike, and another attack that almost led to Big Mac and Fluttershy being killed, she faced extreme hostility from her friends. This led her to believe that friendship was conditional and chose to fake her own death when the LoJ sent Trixie to kill her. She returned later on in a disguise and took up the name "Minty Sprinkles" so the League would think she is dead and became Trixie's parole officer, in which she allowed Trixie to do her crime fighting as a way to prepare her for what she believed would be a devestating attack by the League of Justice. She didn't fight nearly as ofter as Trixie, but when she did, she proved to be far more capable than Trixie, using her Pinkie Sense and speed to take on multiple opponents easily. However, during her fight with Trixie, she injured her hoof and her back to where she'll need surgery to prevent permanent damage.

During the griffin/EIB joint strike on Trixie's apartment, Pinkie Pie snapped and killed nearly every EIB agent and griffin in the hallway of the apartment complex she and Trixie were staying in. When she was captured by the EIB and griffins, she managed to break free and kill Lock as "Pinkamena" before passing out from blood loss.

Shining Armor

Shining Armor

He still held his position as Captain of the Royal Guard, but in the events after the changeling attack his workaholicism had become worse to the point where he was sleeping in his office and losing touch with his family. He led the protection detail in Ponyville during election day, but when Terra attacked he suffered crippling injuries where his hoof was shattered and his horn nearly snapped off. Throughout the story he was overwhelmed with guilt for not helping Trixie when she was being tortured by Brisk Wind and for losing so many soldiers and civilians when Terra attacked. He vowed to expose Brisk Wind and the EIB for their corruption, but faced multiple problems when the EIB scared witnesses into not testifying and being tricked into making a fool of himself. He also held coffee to high standards and had a sense of humor, usually at the expense of Brisk Wind, but was also quick to get serious. He's also expressed his disdain with the direction Equestria was heading and was very concerned that Celestia wasn't thinking clearly in regards in how to best handle the turmoil.

Shining Armor used an audiorecorder to record his thoughts, rather than a journal, and used a typewriter for his messages for convience purposes.

Roar Shock

A pegasus stallion that led the League of Justice; he had a very warped opinion on justice, believing that it must be taken to an absolute level. He had been the leader of the LoJ for quite some time before suffering a great loss, and after that loss he reworked the League of Justice into a militan organization and fought crime and corruption using assassinations and acts of terrorism. Before the League of Justice headquarters was destroyed, Gray Muffin mentioned Roar Shock wanting Trixie to join him in their largest operation against corruption.

Gray Muffin

An earth pony stallion that trained Trixie after saving her from Sunshine Cloud. He practically worshipped the ground that Roar Shock walked on and held very cynical views of social degredation. He blamed social degredation on politics, corrupted education, and softness on criminals. He was also proven to be very observant, brutal against his enemies, ridiculously tough on trainees, and yet was very protective of those under his command. He was believed to be killed when the Royal Guards attacked the League of Justice headquarters.

Terra

A psychopath unicorn mare that worked for the League of Justice. She had the ability to manipulate earth and killed Spike and crippled Shining Armor. Believed to have died at Ponyville.

Adanz and Wazza

Zebra twin brothers that helped train Trixie; they also liked to play jokes on her. When the Royal Guards attacked the Citadel, one of them died and the other used a powerful mind control ability that made a dozen soldiers shoot themselves (found out through testimony of a surviving soldier). The surviving brother then assisted Lyra in killing Winny.

Brisk Wind

A pegasus mare leading the Equestrian Investigation Bureau; she was an orphan that designed and ran the Equestrian Investigation Bureau after the assassination of Prince Blueblood, and also designed its sister agency: the Civilian Defense Agency. She used anyone she can to get what she wanted and was on a constant hair trigger.

Lock N. Key

Brisk Wind's go-to pony. He was a cold blooded, unicorn stallion that was quick to carry out Brisk Wind's orders and was the liazon between Brisk Wind and Gilda. He was shown to have mind reading capabilities before his death, but prefered to use it as a last resort, keeping most of his reading to that of body language instead.

Gilda Grizelda

Equestria's criminal superpower. She was actually blackmailed into Brisk Wind's services. She showed very little respect to ponies, but was very concerned for the safety of her griffins. She also wore reading glasses.

Vinyl Scratch/DJ-Pon3

Vinyl Scratch/DJ-Pon3

Canterlot's most famous disc jokey; she played the music and delivered the news, and her radio blurbs about current events did more to inform the public of what's happening in Equestria than the major news networks. She also saved Trixie from bleeding to death after the griffins and EIB attacked her.

Sunshine Cloud

A disfigured pegasus stallion that took in Trixie when she was at Barnville, but after he tried to rape her he was killed by Gray Muffin. He later returned as a red eyed, black specter and made his presense known by Trixie every chance he got. When Trixie had her meltdown he returned looking like himself. He frequently encouraged Trixie to kill others in the name of self preservation and compared her to a murderer for her actions and inactions.

Custos

A faceless, shadowy unicorn stallion that appeared in Trixie's dreams to show her pieces of her past. At first he showed her where her father was murdered, then he tried to get her to understand how broken her father was after what he did. It was hinted that he was more than just a pony who visited her in her dreams.

Reception
Mare-Do-Well: Regeneration has recieved praise for its darker interpretation of the Mare-Do-Well concept, and how it boldly takes on subjects not normally seen within fan fiction. As of Spetember 22, 2012, the FIMFiction.net rating system has given it a 90% approval rating with 200 comments and it has been featured in four groups (The Sci-Fi Ponies, The Writer's Group, Dark and Struggling Authors). It currently holds #17 as most popular Mare-Do-Well story on FIMFiction.net. The reception it recieved by readers has been overwhelmingly positive. FIMFiction.net users Darkbladex96 and Hashmark111 praised it for its "Good, solid dark hero writting" and "interesting take on the Mare-Do-Well concept". Another FIMFiction.net user by the name of Crimson Dawn has also applauded the story for its blend of character growth and brutality. Bronyman1995 has also found it hard to describe how much he liked the story, so he used gif bombs to proclaim his love for it.

However, despite the praise it is recieving from audiences on FIMFiction, it was not well recieved by the Equestria Daily. It had been accused by the EQD prereaders for being unimaginative and lifting names of famous characters and quotes (most notably Roar Shock and modified Batman Begins quote seen in the beginning). They also criticized it for it's present tense format.