Mare-Do-Well: Dark Reflections

Chapters

Prologue: When darkness falls
Descent
An honest draw
Showdown In Ponyville
Discoveries
Elusive Thief

Prologue: When darkness falls

It was getting late as Rarity headed back to the Carousal Boutique. She was tired from the events of the day but she also had a faint hint of regret; recently she and her other friends had taken notice that Rainbow Dash was letting all of the fame she’d drawn to herself from her recent heroics go to her head and they had decided to do something about it. Their plan halfway worked; the town loved their new hero but they failed to find and tell Rainbow Dash after the ceremony to explain themselves. Amethyst Star had mentioned her growing increasingly desperate to prove herself by partaking in some rather ridiculous ‘heroics’ and demanding praise for them, including a moment with a peanut butter jar, and Scootaloo asked if Rarity had seen her, saying that Rainbow Dash was really depressed the last time she was with her.

I hope she didn't get too angry about the whole thing Rarity thought to herself We only wanted to show her how bad the ego trip was for her, and demonstrate what a real hero is like. They had done the right thing, hadn't they? Rainbow was known for loyalty but also for pride, and when it got too far she had a way of ignoring any criticism directed on her. Besides, if the others hadn't stepped in when they had, who knew what kind of damage could have occurred, and how many lives could have been lost because Rainbow Dash wasted too much time showing off?

She eventually made it to the front of the Boutique and floated her keys from her saddlebag and into the lock... only to find the door already unlocked and slightly open Sweetie must have come by early. Rarity thought, trying in vain to soothe herself but what she saw ensured that her worst fears were realized.

Somepony broke into her boutique.

Her first instinct was to run and check on Sweetie Belle's room and see if she was okay. Her worries only increased when she saw her sister's room in complete disarray indicating someone did, in fact, enter the room and nearly tore it apart like they were looking for something. "Sweetie!" she shouted trying to get her sisters attention "Sweetie Belle you can come out now the bad pony’s..." whatever she was going to say next died in her throat as she saw a note on her sisters bed room wall.

To the ever arrogant Rarity
I have your sister and I know the dirty little secret you and your friends are trying to hide. if you truly value your sisters safety you will not hunt me down do you understand?

She stared at the note again and again trying to comprehend what has just occurred. When she did though her rage burned like a thousand suns exploding. Somepony is going to pay! She turned to leave the destroyed room but failed to notice that the box of costumes her friends wore was broken open and that the pegasus outfit was missing. Quick as lightning Rarity ran from the Boutique and towards the center of town, the library, to see if Twilight could help her.

"Twilight!" Rarity shouted "Twilight we need to talk!" she shouted once more yet was only met by silence. She started to head back home when the door finally opened to reveal not Twilight but a deeply troubled-looking Applejack.

"Hey Rares you got one too?" Applejack asked her white unicorn friend. After looking at her friend quizzically she finally noticed a letter in her friends saddlebag... a letter with a familiar hoof signature on it. It didn't take Rarity too long to realize that Applebloom was foalnapped as well, meaning that this ruffian, whoever they were, probably knew where all of her friends lived... including Rainbow Dash. She wanted to go out and hunt this arrogant crook down right then and there but what could they do with their sisters lives at stake?

"I'm so sorry Applejack but maybe Twilight can-" Applejack held out a hoof indicating Rarity should stop "I already asked her sugar cube but she say's she ain't got nuthin on who took my sister and if it's the same crook they probably didn't leave anything behind too." With that depressing thought on their minds Rarity entered the library. What surprised her at first was the fact that the whole place was in complete disarray in contrast to the clean look it usually portrayed.

"Twilight? Darling what happened?" Rarity asked and that's when she saw one of the single most disturbing things in her life. Twilight Sparkle the most level headed of her friends was stroking her tail with her hoof repeatedly on the floor with a look of pure insanity on her face and she could swear she heard her muttering to herself that "It'll be fine it's all going to be just fine we just have to find out about spike and it'll be just fine".

The sight made the time Twilight feared tardiness on a report to Celestia tame in comparison and was enough to make the fashionista cringe in horror. To think all of this caused her to degenerate into this was beyond the worst possible thing ever! She started to try and comfort her friend when a letter suddenly appeared in front of Twilight who promptly ripped open the envelope with her magic and proceeded to read the letter.

URGENT REQUEST!
My faithful student Canterlot is under attack and the castle is sustaining heavy damage. But I need you to promise me no matter what you will not attempt to assist me or Luna in this fight!
From: Celestia

As soon as Twilight finished the letter it combusted into ash and another took it's place.

Hello Twilight Sparkle
By now you probably got a letter from the former princess of Equestria. Well I'm here to say that you won't be taking any more letters from her anytime soon. If you and your precious friends are truly loyal to her you will come and fight me. NO HELP FROM THE ELEMENTS! Not that you could, after all, one of your fellow bearers is already headed this way. If I'm not mistaken it's the one they call Rainbow Crash? Oh, she'll be fun to break.

The note soon combusted again though this time due to the unicorn’s rage. First this arrogant self obsessed crook captures Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie, and probably Scootaloo as well but now they had the very nerve to try and take over Canterlot and proclaim themselves the new ruler of Equestria? They were going to suffer in ways never thought possible.

"Rarity get the others we're going to Canterlot." Twilight said with pure malice in her voice. Moments later the whole group got together as Twilight started to cast an extremely powerful teleportation spell.
________________________________________
*twenty minutes later*

Twilight and the others headed towards the throne room inside the castle, tripping over unconscious and dead guards alike, with a look on their faces that spoke volumes they found the main door and proceeded through it. What they saw nearly took the fight out of them. All across the floor were dead or dying guards from both Celestia's and Luna's own personal honor guards in various poses, and the room itself was somehow much darker despite the windows around it. Before they could go and help the closest one they heard the most disturbing laugh in their lives.

"So the little heroines finally decided to show up huh?" a dark and foreboding female voice asked. Because of the echo effect in the room they had no idea where the sound was originating from.

"Who do you think you are huh? Think you're tough fighting in the shadows? Too scared to fight us fair and square?" Applejack yelled in the room and once more that same laughter pierced her hearing

"Well if that's how you want it then. But remember you asked for it." She heard the voice say and moments later a figure glided down from the ceiling with only the grace of a pegasus but what shocked the girls was the outfit that she wore.

It was one of the Mare-Do-Well costumes that they used but instead of purple and blue, it was a red-orange with a black mask and cape, with a dark yellow bodysuit, like a negative version of its color scheme. The broach had also been altered, with a large N in place of the M, and the eye lenses were now a piercing yellow.

"Well what do you think, like the outfit? What am I saying? OF COURSE YOU DO! After all Rarity, you made it from scratch." Enraged, Rarity charged forward with a flurry of kicks and punches that the mysterious assailant merely side stepped out of the way of before tripping her over, giving the villainess an opening to strike her in the gut and with a groan Rarity went down.

"RARITY!" Fluttershy shouted and started to fly over to retrieve her friend when the assailant flew up faster than she could've thought and swooped down, dive-bombing her into the floor. "W-who a-are you?" Fluttershy asked before passing out

"I honestly never thought about it at first but you know what I think you can just call me The Nefarious Negamare. It has a nice ring to it don't you think?" Negamare asked before kicking her out of the way. The final three mares then glared at her in looks of pure hatred "So who wants to dance next, hmm?" She asked. Her answer came as all three charged her at once but to no avail as she quickly overwhelmed them with her superior speed and strength.

With all five mares down for the count she quickly tied them up to ensure they wouldn't go anywhere and placed inhibitor rings on the two unicorns horns and tied up Fluttershy’s wings to ensure she wouldn't fly off. Twilight was the first to awaken. "Oh goody, you’re awake! I was wondering who would be the first. Those rings are pretty cool, aren't they? They use those to suppress the powers of unicorn criminals when they’re apprehended… rather appropriate seeing as how you just tried to overthrow your new ruler, am I right?" Negamare said to which she earned a glare from Twilight. "In case you're wondering where Celestia and her weak sister are I wouldn't worry about them now. They aren't dead if that's what you're worried about, even with my power, I can't kill two goddesses! Nah I just banished them to their polar opposites." She taunted and earned a smirk from Twilight.

"You know we may have lost but you seem to forget there's actually six of us and you beat five." Twilight said with a burst of pride. Despite them giving her a rough time she knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't let them down in the end. She never faltered when it came to her loyalty so it surprised her when Negamare laughed hauntingly

"What? You mean Rainbow Crash? Didn't you get the memo? She was the first to arrive and the first to fall. Want proof? I have a token of hers right here."

The villainess said and pulled something from beneath her outfit... it was Rainbow's element but it was gray and had a blood stain on it. Realization hit Twilight like a freight train "N-n-n-no sh-she isn't- she can't be." Twilight stammered for a few moments as the necklace hit ground with a dead clank and slid in front of her hooves, devoid of the shine it once had.

Negamare leaned in close for a personal message "I should thank you… your little stunt made her reckless enough to try and challenge me before any of you had the chance to get here. I'll have you know she died like the sniveling failure I always knew she was. But I shall grant her final request that at least her friends and family are spared as I'm a benevolent ruler." Negamare taunted. With those words, she turned around and went back to the throne and sat on it as though she owned it which at the moment she did. "Hail to the queen bitches." Negamare said before darkness embraced Twilight once more.

A year had passed, and with the fall of the Princesses of night and day, Equestria was plunged into an eternal twilit state that brought a gradual decay into the kingdom, and ever since then Negamare has ruled with and iron hoof. A few have tried challenging her rule, both good and bad, only to be met with similar defeat; she’d allowed them to escape with their lives, if only to tell others of their failure and that she could not be defeated. But while all this happened here, in another Equestria a hero had risen. A hero who has stared death in the face and bucked it right back where it came from. A hero only known as The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

Author's Note

Name: Negamare
Identity: Unknown
Gender: Mare
Species: Pegasus
Abilities: Other than the standard pegasus powers of flight, Negamare is an expert in CQC and also has a limited control over the weather and can use it how she sees fit. Negamare also has unbelievable wing power which makes her possibly the fastest mare alive only trumped by the late Rainbow Dash.
Weakness: Arrogant, can be baited into fights with the right taunts but over time has learned to control her anger. Other than this no other weakness can be found

DO NOT APPROACH UNLESS YOU ARE EXTREMELY WELL ARMED!!!

Descent

"Hurry up will you!" The thug asked his friend who was busy cracking a safe. Thanks to the new moon from Luna the two criminals were perfectly shrouded in darkness. Unfortunately, for them, so was a certain famous superhero.

"What's the big deal any ways with this Mare-Do-Well everyone's talking about?" The safe cracker asked his friend. "I almost forget that you're new here you moron. Mare-Do-Well is the resident superhero that the cops don't seem to do jack to stop her but instead they let her fly around and beat ponies like us up." the thug responded. Neither had noticed the shadowy figure that landed almost right behind them. Sneaking up on them, she got next to the thug who narrated some of her life story

"Who are we talking about?" she whispered. The thug was about to respond when he realized who spoke. Slowly he turned his head, hoping and praying he was wrong. His face was soon looking into the blue eye of Mare-Do-Well "S'up?" she asked."EEEKKK!!" Screaming like a little pony, he quickly surrendered. But his accomplice just looked at her with a look of disappointment.

"Really? You're the one that's got criminals shaking in their hooves? Please I could beat you in no less than ten seconds." He said. That's my line thank you. Mare-Do-Well thought to herself. The idiot threw the first punch-only to have it deflected and his face on the receiving end of a right hook to the face and was knocked out cold immediately. She turned to his friend who was still shaking in fear of what the hero could do to him.

"BOO!" the costumed hero shouted, causing the thief to trip on a stool. Hearing approaching sirens, she took off through the opening in the ceiling. 'Bout time they got here she thought to herself. She soon landed on the front doorstep of her cloud house. Once she got inside she took off her mask and shook out her prismatic hair.

"Whew. What a night." Rainbow said. She took off the rest of her outfit and then hung it up in her secret closet. She turned around and saw the only two trophies she regretted ever getting: A claw from the griffin terrorist Razorbeak, and the mask of Shadowbolt. With the image of the psychopathic mare invading her thoughts,she headed to bed, hoping this time for pleasant dreams. But.......

The feeling of wind brushed through her feathers as she and Lighting Dust, another rookie from the academy, flew side by side, neck and neck until Lightning accidentally rammed into her hard enough to dislocate her wing. She looked up and at first saw Lightning racing down to help her but then was scared to see that she had on her Shadowbolt outfit and was laughing crazily.

"I HOPE YOUR WINGS STILL WORK DASHIE!" She heard her yell before she was met with darkness She snapped her eyes open and saw that she had only fallen to the floor and was covered in cold sweat. After making sure she hadn't hurt herself she got back up and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for failing you Lightning" Rainbow whispered and soon felt tears in her eyes. She was about to go back to bed when she noticed what time it was. OH SHOOT I'M GOING TO BE LATE! she thought as she flew out her front door heading to Twilight's library. Rainbow hoped she wasn't too late as she nearly busted down the door knocking on it and soon found it opened by none other than Spike.

"Hey Rainbow you just made it. Twilight's in the other room." He said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks short stuff." She said and proceeded towards the basement entrance. She opened it and yelled down "HEY TWILIGHT I MADE IT!"

"AND AS USUAL YOUR LATE!" She heard Twilight shout back. Even though she was a big egghead, she was still an awesome friend.And today she wanted to see Rainbow for a different reason; she had discovered a new spell and she wanted to tell Rainbow all about it. As Rainbow bounded down the stairs she couldn't help but wonder what new spell her friend discovered. She soon made it down the stairs and saw an especially happy Twilight Sparkle nearly hopping up and down just like Pinkie Pie. "Guess who found a new teleport spell?" Twilight teased and Rainbow merely rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Let me guess.... you egghead?" She said jokingly and got a look that said some days you're just no fun. "Yes I just learned a new spell party pooper. But what's so cool is that not even Starswirl got to this one! He wrote it down but never casted it." Twilight said with a little too much enthusiasm. Rainbow backed up a little knowing that any new spell could have a certain... backlash to it.

"Gee that's great and all Twi but I mean how far off are we talking here?" Rainbow asked her friend.

"I don't know isn't that exciting?!" Twilight said, once again, with more enthusiasm than necessary when talking about a spell that could send her friend possibly to the center of the planet. When she saw the worried look on her friend's face she toned down a little. "I'm sorry Rainbow but you know I get excited when something like this occurs." She said and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Tell you what I'll study more on the spell and you get ready okay?" she suggested to her and got a confused look from Rainbow in response. Twilight rolled her eyes at the look on Rainbow's face "You didn't think I just called you down here just to show off did you? And besides who knows how long it'll take for me to recharge the spell?" She told Rainbow.

This perked her right up and immediately she sped off towards her home to pack a few things. Some food and drinks and also a little... souvenir for emergencies only of course. When she got back to the library she saw Twilight looking into a scroll with the eye sight of a hawk.

"HEY TWILIGHT!" Rainbow shouted. It snapped her friend right out of her trance and also a prompt slap as well.

"Rainbow you should know better!" Twilight exclaimed. Twilight explained to Rainbow that, from what she gathered, it transports other ponies not just from place to place it also can do the same with dimensions. This excited Rainbow even more and she wondered what it would be like to see what another her would look like. After the exchange was over Twilight began to cast the spell and out of no where a portal appeared.

"Wish me luck Twi!" Rainbow shouted as she headed through the vortex but almost immediately something was wrong. The first thing was that the portal was actually falling in on it's self and the other was that she swore she heard Twilight's voice cracked and broken almost whisper "Help me," that was all she remembers before she looked down and saw that she was plummeting towards solid ground. Thinking on her hooves Rainbow spread her wings and, along with some praying, tried to land safely and she eventually found a roof top to land on.

Rainbow soon lived up to her old nickname of "Rainbow Crash" as she made what could've been the most amazing crash landing in history. Eventually she got back up and saw that, for some reason, she was in what looked like Canterlot but it wasn't sunny like when she left Twilight's library. In fact it didn't look very bright or dark at all just...dusk. It was honestly creepy if Rainbow was going to be honest to herself. she eventually found her saddlebag, which fell off during her descent, and opened it to make sure she had everything and breathed easier when she noticed nothing was missing. She then found a nearby mare wearing what appeared to be a mourning clothes trotting down the street.

"HEY!" she shouted to the mourning mare who turned around and immediately started to pick her pace up as though she was trying to avoid her on purpose. Rainbow eventually just flew over and stopped in front of her "Hey what the hay was all that about? I just wanted to know where I was?" She asked the weird mare who responded with a answer that chills Rainbow to the bone this day "You- you should be dead."

Author's Note

Ten points to whoever catches the reference in the chapter name.

An honest draw

Appleloosa, a desolate town in the middle of nowhere. None of the towns folk bothered anypony but that didn't mean they themselves were spared from Negamare's ruthless soldiers. Among the things to torment them none topped the buffaloes that plagued them day in and day out.

"Papa why do the buffaloes act so mean to us?" A young colt asked his dad, a tall yellow coated earth stallion with the apple family cutiemark adorned on his flank. Braeburn looked down at his son with a smile on his face and rubbed the little colts head and then turned to look at the dark horizon hoping that for once the sun or even the moon would rise and that this whole thing was just a bad dream but to his disappointment all he saw was another dust bowl gather up which meant one thing. She was coming back.

"Son get in the house now." He said, his voice deadpan and devoid of emotion, and his son complied accordingly. Just as the last door in Appleloosa closed up the full brunt of the stampede descended on the town. The buffaloes skidded to a stop, just moments before they could've crushed Braeburn's house down. He looked through them trying to see if he could find at least one among them he recognized before he heard a familiar cackle echo out from them.

"Well, well, well. What is this now? Big bad Braeburn out all on his own now. This is a surprise." The familiar raspy voice of the stampedes leader made herself known. He saw her leap down from a large buffalo warrior. The mare in question had a stetson hat, just like everypony else in the town, but most of her face was covered by a red bandanna across her mouth and she wore really rugged looking clothing. At her hip were two pistols fashioned specifically for her use. But that wan't what Braeburn was focusing on. What he was looking at were her clothes, which had a familiar fur look on them. They looked like the fur that was on chief Thunderhooves. He stepped towards her, intending to start a fight, but the mare noticed this "Now now Brae don't be getting any ideas now you should know how the safety of your family means to me." The outlaw said in a mocking tone before she pointed out to Braeburn with her hoof the pegasus sniper in the nearby tower, who was overlooking his own house with a crossbow.

Braeburn gritted his teeth in anger at the mare in front of him, "If you hurt mah family I swear I'll-"

"Do what Brae?" The outlaw said seemingly daring him to do something to provoke her. After a few seconds passed the masked mare snorted at him "Nothing? I thought so. Now then you know the drill fill these puppies up." she pointed at the three bags in front of her, "Otherwise my boys here get a little... rambunctious. You know how it is." The outlaw said and just to prove her point the whole herd started to trample down anything in their path, the saloon, a food mart, almost everything until.

"STOP OKAY I'LL DO IT!" Braeburn shouted and earned a slight chuckle from the mare in front of him. She held out the bags again and Braeburn took them from her. He went inside the nearby bank and started to fill the bags up to the brim with bits but not before he slipped a little something into the bag as well. I hope those strange folk knew what they were talking about with this. The cow pony thought to himself. He headed back out with the bags in tow and put them in front of the outlaw. "Alright I held my end I got you the bits. Now you hold your end of the bargain and let'em go." The cow-pony said in a menacing tone which provoked another small laugh from the mare.

"Hold onto your panties there boy. Don't you worry I'm a mare of my word." She said before waving to the sniper who picked up his weapon and flew off towards his boss's castle. The mare took the bags from Braeburn and then stuck out her hoof for him to shake it. He did so reluctantly, "Negamare appreciates your donations sugarcube." She said and then everypony heard it. A gunshot rang out through the town as the outlaw holstered her pistol. Braeburn looked down at his wound in his gut. The blood seeping from him was coming very quickly and the pain of the bullet was excruciating. "Aw quit your belly ackin' that there wound shouldn't be fatal if yah get to the hospital but let it be a reminder." She held out her hoof to show the device he planted in on of the bags to him before crushing it underhoof, "Don't try and screwover Quickdraw."

"I-I can't believe it. You're alive." The mare said to Rainbow Dash. The two had slipped into a nearby building after the cloaked mare saw Rainbow who, according to her, should be dead. That fact alone was enough to make the pegasus nearly flip out. The two mares sat inside for awhile just doing nothing and then the mare started to talk again. "I'm-I'm sorry but to see you here? Everypony around heard that she killed you." That got Rainbow's attention. She wanted to know who the buck was responsible.

"Ma'am I'm sorry but I have to ask. Who was it that said I died?" She asked but before the mare could anwser she heard several voices nearby.

"Guards." The mare said before she motioned Rainbow to hide behind a hidden wall. A few moments later they both heard the hooves of the guards walk by them. A few moments passed before they started to walk away when. crack. The mystery mare stepped on a piece of glass. The sound alerted the guards, who surprisingly to Rainbow, busted through without a second thought. They found the mare who made the sound pressed against a wall. Through a small crack in her hiding spot Rainbow peered through to see what was happening and was disgusted by what she saw. The guards were three burly looking stallions who wore what seemed to be a mixture of both the Solar and Lunar guard's armor. The leader of the group, a unicorn, used his magic to tear away at the cloak the mare used and what Rainbow saw nearly broke her. The mare that saved her was none other than Cheerilee, the mare who was teaching at the school in Ponyville. The stallion to her right then slapped her into a nearby room and growled in an almost animal like tone.

"So you’re the famous Cherry Bomb huh?" He said with malice in his eyes. Cheerilee shot him a look of pure venom before trying to fight back and the slap from the earth stallion finally made Rainbow snap. She wanted to charge out but then she remembered her saddlebag was still strapped to her. The pegasus grinned, knowing it was time to bring back an old friend.

"HOLD STILL!!" The guard yelled while still trying to subdue the fighting teacher, who wasn't making things easy flailing around, and so failed to notice the figure that descended behind his two friends. The new mare took down the unicorn and earth pony quietly but the pegasus had already been alerted and used Cheerilee as a shield. Before he could make any demands however the stallion saw who was in the room and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "M-my queen?" was all he said before Cheerilee bucked him into a nearby wall. She turned towards the masked pony and saw, to her surprise, somepony dressed in an outfit almost mockingly similar to the outfit the ruler of this land wore but instead of a red-black-yellow color scheme it was mainly blue and purple. She nearly attacked the mare before the mare took off her mask.

"Cheerilee it's okay now alright. It's me Rainbow" She said as she slowly walked towards her, hoof outstretched so that she would be able to hold down the teacher if need be. As she got closer the earth pony slowly became less hostile and relaxed. She looked at the knocked out guard before giving Cheerilee a smirk "Cherry Bomb?" She asked her but the look on the former teacher’s face implored they not discuss it now.

“Now, who was it that said I died?” Rainbow asked.

“When Celestia and Luna were defeated by our new ruler…” Cheerilee said, disdain evident in her tone as she spoke, “Rainbow Dash, our Rainbow Dash… I’m guessing she was still upset from the whole thing with Mare Do Well, she’d been getting more and more desperate… and reckless I guess… trying to prove herself to the town when Mare Do Well would outdo her at every turn. She tried to face her alone, the others were too late to save her. Negamare had already won. Without the royal sisters to raise the sun and moon, the sky is trapped in a permanent twilit state, and without the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, she’s unstoppable.” Cheerilee finished. Rainbow merely stared at her. To hear what happened to the royal sisters was bad enough but then to hear that all this happened back during the incident when she first saw Mare Do Well suddenly hit her, this is how her life could’ve been and still could be. She shook her head before talking to Cheerilee again.

“Who’s this Negamare that took over?” immediately Rainbow regretted her question as the teachers eyes suddenly became dark with hatred.

“Negamare is a cruel, ruthless, cold, and calculative monster that took over a long time ago. I already told you that she banished the royal sisters to their celestial bodies right? What I forgot to mention was that no one knows how she did it, Hay seeds nopony knows who she even is.” Cheerilee said in pure anger. Rainbow saw that she had touched a nerve and decided not to press on the matter. Still, part of defeating her would lie in discovering Negamare’s identity, so Rainbow made a mental note to be on the lookout for any clues that could lead her to that.

“So you got your own superhero getup thing going on…” Rainbow said, deciding to change the subject for now. “Is there somepony out there you’re fighting? Somepony I can help deal with?” She asked, doubting Cheerilee had any intention of going after Negamare, at least not directly.

“There is a group of ponies secretly fighting against her. Believe it or not the leader is not a pony himself. It’s actually a griffon named Razorbeak.”

“What?!” Rainbow asked, completely in shock. She remembered that name, how could she ever forget? The name her former friend had used as an alias in a sick plan to destroy Cloudsdale all just to hurt her. Why would Gilda ever oppose Negamare? If anything she’d have expected should Gilda have chosen this same path in this world she’d have sided with her.

Then it hit her. Gilda had wanted revenge. She’d been obsessed with it enough to come back with the scheme she had. Gilda was always extremely prideful, perhaps she was angry that Negamare had robbed her of revenge she felt overly entitled to? That made some amount of sense, Gilda probably didn’t care at all about Equestria, or its inhabitants, it was just a matter of redirecting her revenge.

As the two mares were talking, however, both failed to notice the new mare that just rolled through the town on her way back to her boss’s castle. So two mares who not only took out three of the most elite fighters Negamare has but they also have connections to the resistance. Just as she was about to turn tail and leave she noticed that one of the mares was wearing purple and blue… and her mask looked awfully a lot like her boss lady’s mask.

“I-it can’t be.” Quickdraw whispered to herself. She turned around and sped off towards the Twilit Castle. She busted through the front doors and saw her boss sitting on her throne with a look of calm on her face, although it was hard to tell with her mask still on.

“You have something to report Quickdraw?” Negamare asked the masked outlaw. The mare in question started to sweat, having never told her boss bad news before so she started with some good news first.

“Well the Appleloosans have surrendered all they got, boss!” Quickdraw explained. “Even if they reckoned they could handle us! Durn fools just gotta keep learnin’ their place over an’ over again, not that that’s a problem.”

Negamare narrowed her gaze at the other mare, she could see there was more to it than this. “And?” The pegasus asked.

“Well, ya’all ain’t gonna believe this. Ah can barely believe it myself… there’s another pony out there, she’s dressed in a Mare Do Well costume. An’ she’s a pegasus, too!”

Negamare approached, glaring down at the cowpony. “Are you suggesting that you think Rainbow Dash is under that mask?” She asked. “Aren't you forgetting? Rainbow Dash is DEAD!” The masked mare shouted at her. Quickdraw was suddenly aware of her heart trying to escape her chest.

“I know boss lady! I just thought you oughta know in case somepony decides to try and lead her to the resistance an’ all ya know?” She said, scared out of her mind at the moment. Fortunately this seemed to satisfy the dark mare as she flapped back to her throne.

“Sorry about that. With these pitiful riots, plus the escaped prisoner still out there, I have a really low tolerance for stories of old ghosts coming back from the grave. See to it she is unmasked, and expose her as the deluded pony seeking to bring back an abandoned symbol that she probably is.”

Showdown In Ponyville

After Cheerilee led Rainbow outside, the pegasus had pulled her mask back on, she lead her around to the back door of another abandoned building. Once to the door, Rainbow noticed a tiny slot on it upon closer inspection, normally used for peering through and looked as though it had been intended to be concealed as much as possible.

“Okay honestly this is extremely cliched if you want my opinion.” Rainbow said with a bit of humor in her voice. Cheerilee looked at her with a deadpan expression that showed a bit of sadness behind her eyes. Cheerilee knocked a few times on the door and a sliding sound was heard and then Rainbow saw the slit open, and two yellow eyes glared through.

“What’s the password?” A gruff, vaguely familiar male voice asked the two mares. Rainbow was stumped but Cheerilee simply stared back at the eyes watching them.

“Revy.”

A second passed as the eyes looked from Rainbow to Cheerilee, then the slid closed. The sounds of latches and bars being removed could be heard, and the door opened. Cheerilee calmly walked in. As Rainbow prepared to follow she froze in place when she saw who had opened the door. It was a tall, lean male griffon with an old bomber jacket whom she remembered as Leo, the griffon thug Gilda had hired to aid her in the fight in Cloudsdale. Leo stared back at Rainbow with a look of confusion on his face.

“What’s your problem huh?” Leo asked the prismatic mare. Rainbow just stood there for a while before Cheerilee grabbed her by the hem of her mask and pulled her along.

“What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed again?!” Cheerilee asked, giving the griffon an apologetic look. “Look, they’re not the nicest bunch, but sometimes a bigger threat can make truces.”

“Who’s this class act?” Another voice asked, one Rainbow knew instantly. While it was disguised as a reverberating baritone, the snide, condescending way the words were spoken was all Rainbow needed to recognize who was under the metal, beaked mask the approaching griffon wore.

“Gilda…” Rainbow said coldly, recalling the last time she’d seen her. It didn’t matter if this was a different reality it was clear her former friend had still chosen the same path, and probably would have gone through with it had things played out differently here. Gilda wore her same disguise she’d used when she had attacked Cloudsdale.

The griffon paused and looked at her with a haughty expression. “Hm.” The costumed griffon reached behind her neck and pulled loose whatever it was that kept her helmet in place and removed it. Rainbow could have sworn she heard a guitar twang as the griffoness gave her head a slight shake to set her feather fringe in place. Looking over, she noticed Leo smirking a little as he fiddled with a small music player in his claws. Gilda narrowed her yellow eyes at the costumed pegasus and cocked her head in curiosity.

“Well, you apparently know who I am. Why don’t you return the favor!” Before Rainbow could even move, Gilda spread her wings and lunged right at her, pinning her against the wall and yanking the hat and mask off in a single stroke. As soon as she did, however, Gilda’s eyes widened in disbelief; the shock causing her to lose her grip on the pegasus. “Dash?! What the?!” Gilda’s eyes suddenly narrowed and her resolve came back, grabbing Rainbow by the throat before she could react. “Let me guess, changeling?” She asked.

“You know I’m too cool to be duplicated, Gilda.” Rainbow said, glaring back at the griffoness.

“Keep thinkin’ that.” Gilda answered. “But you’ll have to come up with something better than that to impress me.”

“Want me to sing the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp anthem?” Rainbow asked.

“Other than that.” Gilda said.

“She’s not one.” A raspy voice said behind the griffoness. Rainbow couldn’t believe what she saw next. He looked like any other changeling, but the look of intelligence in his blue eyes confirmed him to be none other than Zerok. She remembered before he’d stepped up and orchestrated a year-long scheme under the alias “Big Shot”, Zerok was little more than a changeling recruited by Gilda for the Cloudsdale attack. Apparently he’d chosen to stick around for some reason. “Changelings can detect other changelings. She’s no different than any other pegasus pony.”

“But how?!” Gilda demanded. “She’s supposed to be dead!”

“Sorry to disappoint.” Rainbow said struggling free and standing back up. “I’m not from this world.”

“So you’re an alien?” Leo asked skeptically.

“No, I mean I’m from another reality! Like a different Equestria from this one! The princesses are both fine, the Elements are fine, and I’m one awesome superhero to boot! Twilight was attempting a spell and something happened, I ended up in this reality!”

“She’s telling the truth, or at least that’s the best theory I can go with.” Cheerilee said, standing next to the pegasus protectively.

Gilda cocked her head and waved her claw. “Whatever.” She muttered and walked away. Rainbow was, admittedly, surprised by the griffoness’ actions, recalling that last time she’d faced Gilda she’d wanted to kill her… what was stopping her now? Or at least from trying now… she wondered. Intrigued, Rainbow followed.

“Gilda, what’s up? I’d think after all you had planned when you and your pals dropped in you’d not miss a chance to have a go at me.” Rainbow said coldly. The griffoness was silent. “Well, out with it!” Rainbow said, flying in front of her. “Don’t make me demonstrate how good I’ve gotten in the past year?”

“A year? That how long you’ve been doing this?” Gilda asked.

“Yeah, ever since…” Rainbow began.

“Ever since I dropped in and tried to take down Cloudsdale?” The griffoness asked, glaring.

“More or less, yeah.” Rainbow answered, having a feeling where this was going.

“Only reason I didn’t here is because Negamare beat me to it! She trashed Equestria big time there was nothing left to wreck, or at least no way that any of your lame ponykind here would care, and you being dead it didn’t matter as much to me anymore. Made me realize… how stupid I was being! How little it was gonna matter, like what I had left when both my parents were gone was taken from me, too and I couldn’t even think of what left to do… except kill the one who took that from me.” Gilda explained, her tone growing more dangerous. “So what happened to me in your world, if all you’re going on about is true?”

Rainbow paused, for some reason she couldn’t find the words, or at least bring herself to say them.

“Answer me!” Gilda demanded.

“You died.” Rainbow answered. “We fought when I came to stop you from destroying Cloudsdale. Leo was already dead, the changelings were beaten by then. It was just me and you. I pushed the bomb out of Cloudsdale before it went off, you died in the explosion when you tried to stop me because you were so obsessed with revenge it made you crazy!”

“I’m… dead in your world, Dash?” Gilda asked, now looking shocked.

“Yes.” Rainbow replied. “Like I said, you got so obsessed with saving your ego by getting back at me it pushed you completely over the edge! All you cared about was making me pay and well guess what, Gilda? Look where that got you! Are you even capable of realizing when you’ve done something wrong, or is it always somepony else’s fault? It may not be ‘cool’ to have made a mistake but you know what? It’s even less cool not to accept and admit when you have! I became what I am now in the first place because I realized that after my friends helped me see it… and not realizing it even when your best friend tries to get you to is obviously what made you into this. Feel ‘cool’ anymore, ‘Razorbeak’?” The pegasus asked coldly. The griffoness only stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, as if she were processing what Rainbow had just said to her. A second later, though, Gilda just narrowed her eyes at her and let out a low, lionlike snarl.

“Real cute, Dash. Save the preaching for someone who cares!” Gilda replied, and without another word, turned and left the room. Sighing, Rainbow returned to the main room where the others were.

“Everything alright?” Cheerilee asked.

“Peachy.” Rainbow answered flatly. “So what now? What’s this all about? Who are these ponies?” Leo and Zerok glared. “And others.”

“Somepony call for some awesome?” A mechanical male voice called out and Rainbow turned around to be greeted by none other than a blue armored unicorn.

“SHOCKWAVE?!” She shouted, and thanks to the soundproofing the walls had they would’ve been given away. The unicorn tilted his head.

“Shockwave? No the name's Soundblast.” The unicorn plainly. Rainbow turned towards Cheerilee with a look of shock on her face.

“What’s he doing here.” Rainbow asked earning a look of confusion on the former teacher’s face and a scoff from Soundblast.

“Excuse me do I sound like a stallion?...Oh wait I actually do.” Soundblast said as he tried to flip a switch on her helmet “Hold on for a sec.” He said as the switch was finally flipped and he sighed. “Finally I forgot how annoying that gets.” A female voice came from the suit. A very familiar mare’s voice.

“V-Vinyl is that you?” Rainbow asked as the helmet on Soundblast’s head split down the middle and slid open to reveal an ivory-white unicorn’s face. “Sup! Gotta say, the surprise is kinda mutual!” Vinyl said, her horn glowing and a small compartment on the back of her armor slid open, and a pair of shades floated out and rested neatly over her muzzle, hiding her magenta eyes.

“Well, long story short, I’m not exactly from around here. A spell with Twilight made me kinda cross realities.” Rainbow explained, before pausing and looking at Cheerilee. “Anypony else here that I should meet? I really don’t wanna have to explain this over and over again every time another pony shows up.”

“Funny you should say that.. if Vinyl’s here I’m sure the others’ll be along shortly.” Cheerilee explained. As if on cue, purple smoke filled the room and a figure in a light purple hooded cloak and a dark blue bodysuit rose up, spreading its booted forehooves out. Within the hood was a silvery orb which a pair of purple eyes glowed through, the pony’s horn poking through the hood and confirming it a unicorn. The strangely-dressed pony reminded Rainbow a little bit of Decepto in a lot of ways.

“The GREAT and ENIGMATIC… TRICKSTER…” The figure declared in an echoing voice. “...Is present.” With that, the costumed pony’s horn glowed and the orblike helmet vanished from her face like a mist, revealing the mare Rainbow had already figured out would be underneath after the introduction.

“Hey, Trixie.” Rainbow replied flatly.

“What?!” Trixie drew her hoof to her mouth as she shuddered in disbelief. “Impossible! Trixie heard of your untimely demise, Rainbow!”

“It would seem exact…” Another voice said “That Rainbow’s death is not true fact.” Soon after, Zecora entered, wearing a costume similar to that which the zebra assassin Black Hex whom Rainbow had once fought. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. Sadly we do not have Pinkie here to start a joyous bash.” Rainbow smiled as she went over and hugged her old zebra friend.

“It’s great to see you to Zecora how-” Rainbow was suddenly surprised by the noise coming from Vinyl’s suit.

“Greetings citizens of Equestria!” A voice came from the radio. “This is your leader, Negamare! An important matter has come to my attention! It would seem some new misguided vigilante has surfaced, called Mare Do Well. Those of you from Ponyville might remember her; she's got a costume like mine, except different colors, and reports claim her to be a pegasus. The first to bring her before me or at least have her done away with and unmasked will receive a reward of 10,000 bits from the royal treasury. Anypony who is found harboring this fugitive will be arrested on sight and brought before me personally for judgement! And to you, Mare Do Well, whoever you are, don't think you can hide. This is my world, and it plays by my rules, and the first and only rule is the one everypony knows; I always win!” The broadcast ended soon after that. Rainbow just stared at the suit and said the one thing that was on her mind.

“I’m only worth 10,000 bits really?” Rainbow asked with a look of confusion on her face. The expression on everyone else’s though was clear that they took what Negamare just said very seriously. “I’m sorry but I mean come on who would be that crazy to accept her offer? And at that amount of bits I mean come on I’m worth at least twice that much.” Rainbow complained.

After her boss put the bounty out for Mare-Do-Well’s head Quickdraw immediately high tailed her flank back to ponyville so that she could make sure that the costumed idiot was still there. Before she made it all the way back to the little town however she decided to stop by and… pick up a few things first. The first thing she picked up was a device modified from the changeling’s own hivemind that helped her control the buffalo herds, and the second thing were her two pistols. As she got the two items she suddenly felt her face and realized she was missing her bandana. She felt her pocket and pulled it out in her teeth but couldn’t put it on real well without assistance.

“Hey! Come on over ‘ere an’ get this on me.” Quickdraw said angrily to one of the buffalo.

“Right away, ma’am.” The buffalo said, trotting over and adjusting the bandanna for her with his teeth. “All set.”

“Thank ya kindly. Now scram.” Quickdraw said, walking ahead of them.

Ponies were immediately running for cover, ushering their fillies and colts inside, all of which amused Quickdraw to no end. Her keen eyes spotted a stray filly and she smirked. “Y’all make sure that’un doesn’t get away! Take her to the town hall an’ wait for me. Ah got a plan.”

In seconds, the scared filly was surrounded by six towering buffalo. The largest one leaned down and grabbed her by the tail with his teeth, and led the way to the ruined town hall. Satisfied, Quickdraw drew in a deep breath.

“Mare Do Well! Ah know yer here!” She shouted. “Ah’m callin’ you out ya lowly varmint!”

No answer.

“Figger’d as much.” She said. “In case you didn’t see what just happened, ah had my boys take a filly to town hall. Now if ya don’t want ‘em to test how well she fares as a stampede obstacle, you’ll come on outta hidin’ an’ meet me there in the next five seconds!” With that, the costumed earth pony galloped off to the town hall to wait for her.

It didn’t take long at all. Skidding to a halt, Quickdraw gazed straight up at the rooftop where Mare Do Well had perched right as she arrived.

“Hi.” The pegasus said softly, flying down and landing several feet away from the earth pony.

“Well that didn’t take long at all!” Quickdraw said in amusement. “Tell ya what. You win, the filly goes free. You lose, well she’ll just be the first thing my boys trample in this here hamlet!”

“How do you want to settle this?” Mare Do Well asked.

“The way ah know best. A good ol’ fashioned duel like the old days!” Quickdraw answered. “On five.”

Mare Do Well narrowed her eyes, but complied, not wanting to endanger the filly hostage. The two stared eachother down for a moment.

“One.” Quickdraw began.

Mare Do Well took a fighting stance.

“Two.” The earth pony continued.

Steady… Mare Do Well reminded herself.

“FIVE!” Quickdraw shouted suddenly, doing a spin and yanking a lasso from her saddlebag. Mare Do Well had only a second to fly straight up, narrowly avoiding getting snared by the other pony’s trick.

“Seriously?!” Mare-Do-Well demanded angrily.

“Sorry, ah never said ah believed in fair play.” Quickdraw responded with a laugh. The two mares then began circling each other before Quickdraw suddenly pulled out a revolver and shot at Mare-Do-Well, the masked mare barely getting out of the way. After a few more shots Mare-Do-Well heard the sound of the gun that’s run dry. “Shucks looks like Mcgee is all out of ammo.” She called out. Mare-Do-Well poked her head out… and pulled it back in when the outlaw fired two more shots. “Mcgillicuddy is all locked and loaded though!” Rainbow soon became annoyed that this mare was using the names of Applejack’s bucking legs for her guns. She went through her utility belt and pulled out a few flash bangs. With careful timing she threw the small pebbles at Quickdraw blinding her.

“NOT SO TOUGH WHEN YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CHEATS HUH?!” Mare-Do-Well shouted as she ran towards the outlaw sucker punching her in the jaw. She then turned towards where the little filly was and saw what she thought was impossible: She saw Razorbeak flying down and cutting the ropes with her claws and saving the filly just as the stampede came running across. She turned back towards Quickdraw who chuckled a little bit.

“So little miss Mary has a helper this is a shock.” Another voice said. Turning around, Mare Do Well saw a pegasus standing on one of the rooftops, looking down at her. The pony wore a costume identical to hers, though with a yellow bodysuit, an orange collar and hat, and a black cape and boots. Spreading her wings, the pegasus took to the air and slowly descended towards her, remaining ten feet in the air as she regarded Mare Do Well through her luminescent yellow lenses. Mare Do Well noticed another thing about the pony, that the clasp for her cape was a capital “N” instead of the “M” she wore. “Great show.” She said, clapping her hooves then folding her forelegs, her wings keeping her in the air as her cape billowed behind her.

“I’m guessing you’re this so-called Nefarious Negamare ponies have been going on about?” Mare Do Well asked.

“Well look who’s the big egghead! Figured that one out all by yourself, hm?” Negamare asked with a laugh. “I have to say, there aren’t many pegasi I know who can fit your description, I was pretty sure all the wonderbolts… and their cadets if memory serves… are cooling their hooves in Alkatrot.” She rubbed her chin with her forehoof. “Most of them anyway. The others… well let’s just say the numbers got thin pretty fast when they tried to handle me!” She said, laughing.

“Where are the Harmony bearers?” Mare Do Well demanded, her patience rapidly wearing thin with this mare.

“Hmm, Quickdraw, help me out on this one!” Negamare asked, looking at her ally. “Did I execute them? Drop them down a cliff? Do you know?” Quickdraw laughed a little as she turned towards the costumed hero.

“Last ah checked them mares went screaming all the way down that one cliff. That stubborn pegasus wimp had to be hog tied though. But why yah spared the lavender one Ah’ll never know.” Quickdraw said casual as though she was mentioning the weather.

“Twilight?! Where is she?! Take me to her NOW!” Mare Do Well shouted, flying at the other pegasus, who weaved out of the way, grabbed her with her forehooves, and flung Mare Do Well into one of the cottages.

“Don’t worry, I intend to. Once I’ve roughed you up some more, you’ll get to see her as much as you want.” Negamare replied. “Since you’re so eager to see her, why don’t I make that happen… a little faster?” Before Mare Do Well could even respond, Negamare swooped straight down at her and flew in several circles. The wind around her built up rapidly, and in seconds a mighty tornado formed. Quickdraw ran off and hid behind one of the cottages, as did anyone else still outside. Mare Do Well spread her wings and flew straight at Negamare, and as soon as they impacted both were pulled into the cyclone, interlocked in battle. Mare Do Well attacked with everything she had as the world spun around them, but Negamare was faster, countering every blow she made and striking her with plenty of her own. Eventually, she felt the other pegasus’ hind legs kick her in the chest, sending her flying from the cyclone and tumbling across the ground. Looking up, Mare Do Well saw the cyclone dissipate, and Negamare hovering where it once stood.

“Well, aren’t you gonna get up?” Negamare asked. “You actually convinced me you were gonna at least try back there!”

Grunting, Mare Do Well rolled herself over and jumped back on her hooves, then flew straight at Negamare, who then flew straight up and away from her. The two flew about the town, Mare Do Well just barely behind the other pegasus.

How is she so FAST?! Nopony’s faster then me! Rainbow thought to herself in disbelief as she attempted to catch up to her adversary. Negamare gave a mock salute then did a loop in the air, spread her wings, and a brilliant flash of light shone in Mare Do Well’s face, causing her to instinctively cover her eyes, just in time to get hoofed in the chest, then the chin, sending her spinning backwards in the air. “All of this! Your work, I get it!”

“Not exactly.” Negamare said in a sing-song tone, waving her hoof back and forth in taunting manner. “It’s YOUR fault, actually! Maybe not the pony under the costume, but the very image you’re wearing. The image you chose to become! Rainbow Dash was very hurt when her friends betrayed her. Hurt enough to make the mistake that cost that poor pony her life! And as anypony knows, without all six, the Elements of Harmony are useless. It was all the leeway I needed to take control. The princesses never saw me coming, and neither did Rainbow or her friends.” Her eyes narrowed at Mare Do Well. “So by extension, you represent the true cause of this world’s dying state!”

“No!” Mare Do Well flew at her again, slamming her hoof into Negamare’s face. The other pegasus’ head jerked to the side then she simply laughed. “This isn’t my fault! I became Mare Do Well because I wanted to be a hero who actually is a hero! A hero who stops psychotic monsters like you!” She swung again, and again, and again. This time, however, Negamare just blocked every attack.

“Bored now.” Negamare replied in a flat tone, raising one hind leg up and delivering a sharp kick to the other pegasus. Before Rainbow could reach the ground this time, though, she was suddenly engulfed in explosions as numerous flashbombs went off around her. Amidst the explosions, Negamare’s laughter echoed all around her. Pain all over her, Mare Do Well felt the ground meet her hard. Struggling, she tried to get up, only to feel Negamare’s hoof slam into her back as the other mare stood over her, her mask’s yellow lenses seeming to bore into her as she looked into them.

“Looks like I don’t have to worry about that bounty after all. What do we say? Mystery sol--” Before she could finish, Negamare was tackled by a blur of black that shot through the air, knocking her off of Mare Do Well. Looking over, Rainbow saw Gilda slamming Negamare against a cottage wall, her claws gripped around the mare’s throat.

“Forgetting someone?” Gilda hissed, her gauntlets charging electrical energy and sending a powerful surge through Negamare, who screamed out loudly.

“That’s right, I’m gonna enjoy every second of this!” The griffoness sneered, her helmet that completely concealed her face giving her voice the intimidating deep baritone but then Negamare’s scream slowly became a cruel laugh.

“I think that’s my line.” The electrical energy crackled all around the costumed pegasus’ body and suddenly redirected on Gilda, blasting her off of her. Snarling, the griffon took to the air and lunged again, pulling a pair of explosives from her belt and flinging them at Negamare. The pegasus flinched and was promptly engulfed in the explosions. As the smoke cleared, Negamare grunted in pain. Though she was masked, the hatred in her glare was evident.

“You’re going to pay for that…” She said coldly. “But I admit, I can appreciate the thrill of the chase a little… be glad I’m letting you go for now, but know that every one of my forces will be hunting you down now. If you don’t want to bear the full weight of them I suggest you leave town quickly and scatter to the four winds.” With those words, Negamare flew into the air and into several circles, then shot off towards Canterlot at bullet speed, disappearing into the distance.

“Thanks…” Mare Do Well said, looking over at Gilda.

“Don’t bother.” The masked griffon said, walking away without another word.

“WAIT BOSS! YAH FORGOT SOMEPONY!” Both masked heroes heard a familiar southern mare shout out in anger. They both turned around and saw that, indeed, Negamare had abandoned Quickdraw to her fate. They approached the crazy mare carefully both wondering the same thing, What do we do with her?

Author's Note

I would like to thank ShadeJak for co writing and King Candy for two of the new heroes names, sorry but Boom Boxer didn't have the same ring to it.

Also in two chapters our next villain will be revealed and her theme is based of these two hints: "Do you wanna know how I got these scars?" and

Also a cool pic of a wanted poster: Credit goes to CRYST4LCLEAR (just imagine the 10,000,000 bits as 10,000

Discoveries

“WAIT BOSS! YAH FERGOT SOMEPONY!!” Quickdraw yelled at the empty sky where Negamare last flew off towards her fortress. She couldn’t believe it that after all those years of service to that nag she was left behind like a broken toy with two fighters from the resistance. As she continued to yell at her boss both Gilda and Mare Do Well walked forward confused as to how to approach this situation.

“I say we kill her. What use is she to us?” Gilda sneered.

“No. We can use her to find out what we can about Negamare. She seems like she’s pretty closely connected with her.” Mare Do Well said firmly, flying at the outlaw pony and suddenly striking her from behind with her hoof. Quickdraw tumbled across the ground, her astonished buffalo looking on and unsure what to make of this.

“Don’t get up.” Mare Do Well warned.

“Watch me!” Quickdraw retorted, getting back up and drawing another lasso from her saddlebags. With a quick jerk, she lashed the rope forward. Mare Do Well jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding getting snared by it. Gilda cocked her head and watched in amusement as Mare Do Well flew straight at Quickdraw, grabbing the end of the rope and flying circles around the earth pony, winding it around her and leaving her bound in seconds.

“Get lost. All of you.” The costumed pegasus said coldly to the buffalo thugs, who nodded nervously and fled immediately. “As for you…” She said, looking down at Quickdraw as several other members of the rag-tag hero group Gilda had been with, along with several townsponies came outside. “Let’s see who you are…” She said, swiping off the other pony’s hat and mask with her hoof and was stunned along well as several other townsponies as they saw who she was underneath, “A-Applebloom?!” Mare Do Well gasped at the yellow coated mare.

The former filly was somehow now a full-grown mare about her sister’s age now. It didn’t seem possible given nopony else she’d run into looked any older. “How?!”

“NONE OF YER BUISNESS MARE DO WELL!” Applebloom yelled at her, “AND DON’T CALL MEH APPLEBLOOM! SHE WAS A WORTHLESS LITTLE BLANK-FLANK! AH AM QUICKDRAW!” Mare Do Well was stunned by the anger the mare had and almost didn’t see her about to to cut her way out.

“Oh no you don’t!” Razorbeak said as she punched Applebloom hard enough to knock her out.

“....Thanks.” Mare Do Well said flatly. “I guess we’d best bring her inside, decide what to do with her next. Maybe we can figure out how she got like this.”

“I’ll give ya that one, Dash.” Gilda said coldly. “Negamare got loads of mojo when she took over. It’s no stretch she can use an age spell to help lame-o fillies be a little more age-appropriate for whatever she wants to use ‘em for.”

“Hm, makes sense I guess…” Mare Do Well replied. “Let’s get her inside. Something tells me there’s still more to this.”

Negamare couldn’t help but chuckle to herself as she arrived at her stolen castle. After all these years, her takeover, her reign, and the only opposition was a pathetic group of wannabe-vigilantes and this escapee who thought she could actually pose a threat to her. But then this new pony shows up and actually has the gall to play dress up as a wannabe hero, but NO not just any hero THE MYSTERIOUS MARE BUCKING DO WELL! The thought alone was enough throw her into a maddened state that would force her own troops to tremble as they moved out of the way.

“M-my queen! Is there a-anything w-we can do to h-help?” One asked.

“Yes, step back before I take my anger out on one of you!” Negamare shouted, the guards obeyed immediately.

Taking a few breaths, the pegasus eyed a decorative column and bucked it, shattering it completely. She breathed a little easier now that she had destroyed something. As she walked towards the throne room she looked around a few times before ordering her guards to leave, under threat of death, and then pressing a button on her throne which opened up a secret room that contained her prized “War Criminals”; those who spoke out against her and did extraordinary things that managed to incur her wrath. Among those imprisoned were Derpy Hooves, who tried to use Propaganda to turn the whole of the planet against her. Blueblood, she did this just because he was annoying to her. But her personal favorite was Twilight Sparkle and her pathetic BBBFF Shining Armor, the sentiment was adorable and idiotic to Negamare at the same time. Twilight was imprisoned due to her being among those who fought against her in the first few minutes of her reign and Shining was in it due to him trying to raise a similar resistance army but was stopped soon enough that it didn’t matter.

“How’s everypony been?” Negamare asked as she trotted in, smirking under her mask as she looked over her captives. None of them responded. “Oh, why the long faces?” She asked, laughing from her own bad joke. “No, really, feel free to chat.”

“Why should we?” Twilight asked. “It doesn’t make a difference now.”

“In your position, no. But you should know a new would-be hero popped up. This one’s wearing that old costume you used to mess with your friend.” Negamare said.

“Why… why tell us that?” Shining Armor asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I want to get your hopes up again, so I can take them away just as easily.” Negamare said as though the answer were obvious. “But I know you won’t do anything. You’ll keep the barrier up around my place because you know that otherwise you’ll live just long enough to see your marefriend get executed.” She explained to Shining Armor. “She says hi by the way… though I admit waiting a day or two on that one.” Negamare waited to see if Shining would react, but he didn’t, prompting her to sigh a little. “Whatever. Just do your part and I’ll do mine. I’m not COMPLETELY disloyal on keeping my word after all!” As she said that last part Negamare turned around and left her little prisoners behind. The moment the doors closed though Shining nearly charged the doors at a desperate attempt to break free.

“YOU MONSTER! YOU PSYCHOTIC MURDERING MONSTER!”

“Aw Shiny Whiny that’s supposed to be me!” A high pitched voice came from the shadows. Shining retreated back to his spot and tried to keep his and Twilight’s breathing steady as the newcomer revealed her self.

The mare’s grin was impossibly wide, or perhaps it was not beyond her abilities. Letting out a fit of giggles and tossing back her flat pink mane, the grinning mare pranced around them with glee. “Sounds like somepony needs their frown turned upside-down!”

Outside, Negamare closed her eyes and smiled contently as she listened to the screams behind her. Her personal favorite scream though was when her “happy” friend arrived at Twilight, the sounds of Twilight screaming practically lulled her to a peaceful sleep half the time.

“AH TOLD Y’ALL ONCE AND AH’LL SAY IT AGAIN! AIN’T RATTING OUT MAH BOSS!” Applebloom shouted angrily as she lay on the floor tied up.

“Good.” Gilda remarked, swatting her again. “I could use a little stress relief.”

“That’s enough Razorbeak!” Rainbow growled at her. The griffoness merely shrugged as she took a step back. The masked mare then walked forward as she leaned towards Applebloom. “Do you know who I am?” She asked her.

“DUH! Yer that yellow bellied coward who left town when mah boss showed her face.” The yellow mare responded.

“Not exactly.” Mare Do Well said, pressing her hoof into the mare’s chest.

“Then yer just another dead pony!” Applebloom replied coldly.

“That seems to be a common belief.” Mare Do Well said, unmasking herself and glaring at the astonished “earth pony.

“D-Dash? B-but yer supposed to be-”

“Will everypony I meet stop saying that! I swear to Celestia that gets irritating!”

“Well get used to it, because it was pretty big news when Negamare took over.” Cheerilee replied dryly.

“Now, Applebloom, why did you sell out to Negamare? What’s in it for you? Murder and tyranny aren’t exactly admirable cutie marks to be earning.” Rainbow said coldly. Applebloom soon had tears in her eyes as she looked from Rainbow and Cheerilee alternatively.

“Ah-Ah had no choice! She was gonna kill mah sister! She threatened Applejack!” Applebloom cried.

“Funny, I seem to recall you saying the other elements were dead.” Rainbow said.

“Ah lied, alright! Negamare told me to! Ah don’t know where mah sister is!” Applebloom insisted. Before she could say another word, the pegasus lifted her up and flung her into the nearest wall.

“Rainbow Dash! Stop!” Cheerilee pleaded.

“No.” Rainbow said. “Applebloom… you’ve really gone and made a huge mistake.”

“But…” The other mare pleaded.

“Quiet. Has it ever, EVER once occurred to you what the rest of your family would think? What your best friends would have thought?” Rainbow asked as she approached her.

“Ah… but ah…” Applebloom began to shake, her head suddenly twitched in an odd, unnatural way.

“Answer me!” Rainbow hissed. “Tell me RIGHT NOW, if they saw you, if Applejack saw you right now, would she be proud of you? Would she think you’re brave? Would she think you made a right decision? Or would she be furious with you? Call you an idiot and a coward for selling out to a tyrant? You’ve insulted her memory for what you did. You may not have realized it, but you did.”

Tears began flowing from Applebloom’s eyes as she began to curl up, despite being bound.

“A-Applejack… ah’m…ah’m sorry…ah didn’t…” Applebloom suddenly let out a loud scream as she began twitching and shaking. Then, she began to spasm like she were choking on something.

“Whoa… what the hay?!” Rainbow asked, backing away.

“Dude…” Gilda muttered.

Applebloom tore out of the bindings, her eyes flashing red briefly then her body arched up, and she let out another scream as a strange purple smoke burst from her orifices, the smoke formed into a deformed, screaming face before dissapating, and the earth pony mare collapsed to the ground after.

“Applebloom?” Cheerilee asked.

“M-miss Cheerilee? Is that… what happened?” Applebloom asked. Though still a young mare, her features were much softer now, much more innocent.

“Nightmare possession.” Cheerilee observed. “That explains a lot…” At the mention of the name ‘Nightmare’, Rainbow suddenly had an epiphany.

“That’s how she’s doing it.” Rainbow said.

“That’s how who’s doing what?” Gilda asked suddenly interested as she removed her helmet.

“Think about it. Who else has enough power to take on both Celestia and Luna at the same time?” Rainbow asked but obviously from her tone of voice she already knew the answer. “Twi did a lot of research on ‘em after Nightmare Moon was beaten, as she kinda tends to whenever we run into something new… blame the egghead part of her…” Speaking of Twilight did, however, cause Rainbow’s voice to tremble a little as she worried what Negamare was doing to her. She shook her head and got back into her groove “Anyways the group called themselves ‘The Nightmare Force’ and they were the reason that Luna became what she was a thousand years ago… kinda didn’t pay attention to the rest as Twi rambled on about ‘em but still… I know enough about ‘em, I had a big fight once where they tried to get into my head… and I was able to reject them… it was thanks to Luna, though.”

“So what you’re saying is that maybe this Negamare nag joined with these ‘Forces’ and thats how she was able to beat the Princess and kill you?” Vinyl asked.

“Makes sense, Luna as Nightmare Moon used that sort of power to seal away Celestia. Maybe the Nightmare has that sort of power.” Cheerilee said. “But it must depend on having some kind of vessel or host, or surely we’d have seen more of it.”

Rainbow recalled her encounter with Lightning Dust, when her former teammate in the Wonderbolt Academy had become the deadly Shadowbolt. “Yeah… they do. I wonder…” She mused. “Maybe that’s what she did to the others if they’re still alive!”

“Ya think then maybe mah sister’s under their control too?” Applebloom asked, taking a moment from admiring her adult form in a discarded mirror and looking back at them. “If she is, ah gotta help ‘er!”

“Applebloom, you may be a young mare now, but you don’t have the experience we do.” Cheerilee warned.

“Don’t ah? Ah may not be bad anymore, but ah still remember all ah can do!” Applebloom said, taking up a discarded piece of the rope she’d escaped from with her tail and doing several tricks with it. “Besides, it’s mah sister, so ah’m gonna help get ‘er back whether ya want me to or not. Ah owe ‘er as much for the kinda choices ah made back there.” A bit of saddness was in her voice as she finished doing her rope tricks. Then Zerok walked forward passed the others and towards Applebloom.

“Just how much do you remember young one?” He asked her

“Not much… it’s all blurry before the Nightmare…”

“Well… you may not like this but focus on me…” Zerok said, placing his gnarled hoof on Applebloom’s forehead and suddenly in his place stood Applejack.

Applebloom’s eyes widened and she instinctively hugged what looked to be her sister, her eyes suddenly flashing green as the changeling’s hold over her came instantly.

“Right here, lil’ sis…” The fake Applejack said, and the duplicate’s eyes widened.

Applebloom’s mind was a mess… ponies fleeing, panic in town. The sky in permanent twilight, then Negamare flying down.

Another flash, and Applebloom was watching in horror as Applejack was held down, and some dark, smokelike being flew into her. Applejack flailed helplessly and suddenly her coat turned a grayed tint.

“Applejack! No! Ah’ll help you! Please! Don’ take mah sister!” Her voice pleaded, as Negamare looked towards her. At that moment, the flashback ended.

Zerok reverted back to normal and walked away. “I think we know what we need now. Her sister has been taken as well, and is also possessed by Negamare’s Nightmare Forces.”

“Well let’s get ready, then.” Rainbow said.

“But where could she be?” Applebloom asked.

“Knowing how this has gone, I’m sure she’ll come to us.”

Elusive Thief

At the Diamond Museum in the HoSo region of Manehattan, everything was going about as well as it usually did. The Security Guards patrolled the hallways like always. But, that would quickly change, thanks to a female figure clad in what looked like a rather fitting black dress with long sleeves, black heeled boots that nearly reached up to her hindquarters, black leather pants, black horseshoes on her front hooves, and a badly stitched black mask that concealed most of her face. The only part of it that was exposed were her highly unusual eyes. They both seemed to be blue but had slits for pupils. Around her waist was a belt that held a whip and some type of grappling hook. This was Lady Elusive, a master thief and plunderer.

“Now then. If I was a big fancy jewel where would I be locked up?” She asked herself as she surveyed the room. She looked over the mismatched colors that the guards wore, a mix of both the former solar and lunar guards, and saw that although they patrolled in areas she would normally be able to squeeze by, they also seem to stick with a certain pattern… something that she could use to her advantage.

"All righty, Bel- er, Lady Elusive, time to bag the loot, fly the coop, and rescue your sister and your friends this time," muttered Lady Elusive as she crept down the hallway. Her horn lit up with a dim blue glow as the cat burglar fished a bit out of her pants. "Here's hoping," Elusive whispered as she sent the small golden coin rolling towards the guards.

They barely had time to wonder where it came from before they were swiftly knocked unconscious.

Before approaching the huge vaulted doors that supposedly held one of the biggest diamonds ever found in Equestrian history, known as Frostmare's Heart, Elusive picked the two unconscious guards pockets.

Every last bit counts, she thought before she approached the doors.

But, before she could input the code, the sound of crazed laughter filled the room. A shiver ran down Lady Elusive's spine.

"Well now! If it isn't my old friend Lucy! How has your night been?" A dark yet psychotic voice called out.

Oh, Faust... Not her! thought Elusive desperately. She tried to leave only to get nailed in the gut and flung to the other side of the museum. The guards, now alert to her presence, surrounded her.

“NO! She’s MINE.” The dark voice said. The guards all backed off as the glow of yellow goggles illuminated the room. Elusive tried to stand up only to get hit in the head and have a hoof connect with her horn and caused it to slightly crack.

“AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!” She cried out only to have her head pressed against a wall.

“Now darling tell me. What made you THINK that trying to steal from her was a good idea?”

Lady Elusive looked back into those horrible yellow eyes. In the dim glow of twilight that came through an overhead skylight, those yellow eyes were revealed to belong to a pegasus mare with a familiar purple mane and tail clad in a black and purple version of what looked like the costume worn by the rebel known as The Wonderbolt. But, Elusive could see a few major differences with the suit. Where as the Wonderbolt wore an old flightsuit that once belonged to the old aerial acrobats, this seemed to be some kind of mechanical armor.

Lady Elusive knew she had to come up with a convincing story otherwise she might not get another chance to save her sister.

“Oh, it’s more of a test for her guards. As you can see they are about as bright as a rock. Imagine if a REAL thief got in? What then hm?”

The Shadowbolt seemed thoughtful at this. "Okay, I'll give you the intelligence thing. But, that's not why I'm letting you go. To be honest, you remind me of somepony I used to pal around with back when I was a weak fool. But..." hissed Shadowbolt, her yellow goggles seething with deadly seriousness. "... if I catch you stealing so much as a single bit from a fountain, well... you will merely be another rebel I've ended. Am I making myself clear?"

“As crystal.” Lady said with a smirk.

“Good. Now then I do have a proposition. We have a new 'hero' in Ponyville but you’re gonna love the name of her.” Shadowbolt said with a smirk. She handed the thief a folder which she took with her on her way out. Once she was far enough away, she opened the folder. Lady Elusive's jaw dropped when she saw an all-too-familiar masked figure beating the snot out of a pony she recognized as Quickdraw, one of Negamare's lieutenants. But, the pegasus fighting the gunslinger wore an unaltered version of their dictator's suit.

"Mare-Do-Well... why didn't you save them?" whispered Lady Elusive, tears coming to her eyes.

Before Lady Elusive knew it, a surge of anger raced raced through her. If Mare-Do-Well hadn't turned into a cowardly daughter of a nag, she'd still have everything that ever mattered to her... her friends... her sister... her sister's friends... the night and day... everything would be the way it was before.

Lady Elusive now knew what she had to do. No matter how much it hurt, no matter what sort of pain she had to endure, she would return to Ponyville, challenge Mare-Do-Well, and teach her a lesson she wouldn't soon forget: that being a hero was a full-time job, and there was no such thing as quitting or retirement.

"So, Applebloom, who else is working for Negamare?" Rainbow Dash asked the young mare as they, along with Gilda and Cheerilee, were eating a meager meal.

Applebloom rubbed her head. “Sorry Dash but mah memory’s kinda fuzzy. Ah just know that me and mah sis were a part of that nag’s crew-”

“APPLEBLOOM!” Cheerilee exclaimed. Gilda, however, smirked at this.

“Oh come on teach. The kid’s gotta grow up sometime. Besides I think that’s the least of our concerns right now.” She said as she bit into her meat sandwich.

"Why? What's going on?" asked Rainbow, raising an eyebrow.

Gilda sighed. "... she was been sighted in Manehattan," she said.

Cheerilee's eyes widened as both Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash looked confused.

"H-how many casualties?" asked Cheerilee.

"Not a single body. Which either means the Dusk Soldiers got rid of the bodies, or for whatever reason, she didn't kill anypony. But, I doubt it," said Gilda.

"Uh, will somepony tell me who 'she' is?" said Rainbow.

"Yeah, who y'all talkin' 'bout?" said Apple Bloom.

"The Shadowbolt," said Gilda.

Apple Bloom shuddered. Her memory may be fuzzy, but she certainly knew who that was.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, felt like her jaw had a weight attached to it.

"Sh-Shadowbolt?!" babbled Rainbow.

"Ah, I see you know of her. She your sidekick or something back in your world?" asked Gilda.

"Puh-leaze, G, Tartarus would freeze over before I ever worked alongside that murdering psychopath," said Rainbow, before adding, "Not that either of them is possible."

"Really? How so?" asked Cheerilee.

Rainbow Dash sighed, before she began to tell of her final battle with the Shadowbolt, alias Lightning Dust.

Once Rainbow was finished, Gilda smirked. "Sounds like your version of Negamare's enforcer is a total wacko. But, she's a saint compared to our version," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow.

“Okay for one thing. YOUR version didn’t burn down an orphanage and laugh at the ponies who were burning inside of it. YOUR version didn’t beat two foals to near death and leave them with broken legs. Twist and Button Mash haven’t been the same since. Oh and did I forget to mention that this version also spat on your tombstone?” Cheerilee added at the end. Rainbow’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Yeah the Shadowbolt she fought was bad but this one…. this one was a complete nutcase.

"And that's not all. She's got specially designed battle armor and is tough to take down. Even I had a hard time fighting her Dash.” Gilda said as she checked her claws.

"Negamare must have a lot of resources then. That complicates things," said Rainbow.

"You have no idea... especially since you're supposed to be in Elysium," said a familiar voice.

A shiver ran down Rainbow's spine. She knew that voice all too well... she turned around to find Soundblast, Trickster, Zerok, and a pegasus mare wearing what looked like an old Wonderbolt uniform. A golden mane and turquoise wings were visible through the mask and bodysuit.

Rainbow knew this wasn't the real Lightning Dust. Well, at least not the one who had embraced the Nightmare Force and had gone completely insane. Nevertheless, it took almost all of her willpower to keep herself from pounding this mare's head in.

"Ah, nice of you to drop by, Lightning. Rainbow Dash, this is Lightning Dust, alias The Wonderbolt," said Cheerilee.

"Yeah, that's nice, but tell me, 'Rainbow' you're not going to turn into a big black monster with a long tongue and eats brains, are you?" asked Lightning as she took off her mask and sat down at the table.

"Why in the wide, wide, world of what used to be Equestria would I do that?" asked Rainbow.

Lightning thought back to a book she'd read called Venom Rising. "Eh, no reason," she said.

“Aaaanyways. I take it you heard what I said about you then?”

“Yeah…. to be honest I could SEE myself going that way…. if it wasn’t for the fact I got my team killed.” Lightning said which caused Rainbow to raise an eyebrow.

“It took you getting a team killed to make you humble? That wouldn’t have changed you. Where I was from you nearly killed my friends but that didn’t seem to phase you one bit. What was so different about this team?”

“It’s a little…. complicated. Anyways I can confirm that Shadowdolt was in Manehatten and for once she didn’t break anypony’s neck.”

"That seems a little odd... especially after what she did to Skizzors and Crawls," said Gilda.

"Snips and Snails," Cheerilee explained to Rainbow.

“WAIT YOU LET THOSE TWO BE HEROES?! I THINK I REMEMBER THEM NEARLY LETTING AN URSA DESTROY PONYVILLE!”

"Yes well we didn’t LET them be heroes. They tried to be heroes…. although it was their first time being heroes and they thought they could fight Shadowbolt… those two didn’t stand a chance. But, I still don't get why she would just stop killing."

"Maybe she's gotten somepony else to do it for her," said Zerok.

"What do you-" started Soundblast, before her armor's audio receptors picked something up. "Rainbow... somepony's challenging Mare-Do-Well."

“Oh great let's see who it is this time.” Rainbow said. Soundblast adjusted her audio and let it play out.

“-are-Do-Well I know you can hear me. I personally challenge you to a fight to the death. You will meet your end at the old Carousel Boutique tonight. This is for abandoning us…. and for leaving my sister to fend for herself.” The voice said. The recording stopped and then repeated a few times. Rainbow couldn’t help but feel she recognized where the voice was from but the name escaped her at the moment. She wanted to say Rarity but even though she was going to fight where Rarity once worked at didn’t mean this new fighter was her. Plus it sounded too…. high to be her and sounded much less fancy then what she remembered.

"Ah know that voice," said Apple Bloom.

"Who do you think it belongs to?" asked Rainbow.

"Well... it kinda sounds like one of the Belle sisters... but I'm not sure which," said Apple Bloom, before she got up and left.

"Well, Rainbow? What's the plan?" asked Trickster.

"I'm going to go confront whoever this is punk is. Belle sister or not, whoever this is needs to know that when you mess with the minotaur, you get the horns," said Rainbow Dash as she donned her mask and hat, and set out to confront the mysterious enemy.