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  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 back-stories, 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.

Summary
Mare-Do-Well: Regeneration is a multi-arc story that follows Trixie, Shining Armor, and Pinkie Pie. Each of the three characters are connected and as the story progresses Trixie takes on the role of Mare-Do-Well to fight crime and corruption in Canterlot. However, what starts out as a simple vigilante night run quickly escelates into a fight for survival as Trixie gets unwanted attention from old rivals, an entire Equestrian law enforcement agency called the Equestrian Investigation Bureau, and Equestria's most powerful crime lord. All the while, Pinkie Pie tries to mentor Trixie to prepare her for what she believes will be a massive attack by a terrorist leader named Roar Shock, whom also had relations with Trixie. And Shining Armor also investigates the Equestrian Investigation Bureau under the charges of torture and other violations of basic pony rights, leading him and his witnesses to be targeted as well.

Throughout the story, Trixie experiences hallucinations of a deformed pegasus named Sunshine Cloud and strange dreams about her past are occupied by a mysterious, faceless shadow unicorn named Custos. Pinkie Pie also tries to protect the ones she loves from a terrorist organization while trying to cope with the problems of her past while Shining Armor tries to save Equestria from rampant corruption. All three assist each other in more ways than they realize as they fight criminals, corrupt bureaucrats, and the looming threat of Equestria's downfall.

Trixie Lulamoon
One of the main characters of the story. She takes on the role of Mare-Do-Well to fight crime and corruption, but has to deal with intense psychological problems and her addiction to prescription drugs.

Pinkie Pie
Another main character of the story. She befriends Trixie after renouncing her role as Mare-Do-Well; although she does do some investigation, she lets Trixie do most of the work.

Shining Armor
Another main character of Mare-Do-Well: Regeneration. He tries to bring down the EIB for their hienous acts against their prisoners and ponies in general.

Roar Shock
A pegasus stallion that lead a terrorist organization called the League of Justice; he had a very warped opinion on justice, believing that it must be taken to an absolute level. He is a genius and had built weapons and vehicles a hundred years ahead of Equestria's time.

Gray Muffin
An earth pony stallion, Roar Shock's lieutenant and trainer of League of Justice recruits; like his boss, he has a cynical view of society and is brutal when he carries out whatever task needs to be done.

Brisk Wind
A pegasus mare leading the Equestrian Investigation Bureau and is being investigated by Shining Armor.

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.

Vinyl Scratch/DJ-Pon3
Canterlot's most famous disc jokey; she plays the music and delivers the news, and her radio blurbs about current events do more to inform the public of what's happening in Equestria than the major news networks.

Sunshine Cloud
A red eyed, black specter in the form of a disfigured pegasus stallion that makes his presense known by Trixie every chance he got. He frequently encourages Trixie to kill others in the name of self preservation and compares 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. He acts as a benevolent guide, although his lack of features does annoy Trixie.

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 its "interesting take on the Mare-Do-Well concept". Another FIMFiction.net user by the name of Crimson Dawn has applauded the story for its blend of character growth and brutality while Bronyman1995 has found it hard to describe how much he liked the story, so he uses gif bombs to proclaim his love for it.

However, despite the praise it is receiving from audiences on FIMFiction, it was not well received by the Equestria Daily. It had been accused by the EQD pre-readers 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 its present tense format, in which the author provided a response to the said accusations.

Citation

 * Author's response to being turned down by Equestria Daily