Chapter 4: What To Do, Mary Sue?

“And she completely ruined the next Daring Do book for me.” Rainbow Dash complained to Applejack as they stood on the ground floor of the library.

“Who did?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she descended the stairs from the top floor to see her two friends talking.

“Some crazy mare called 'Best Pony'” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“How could she have ruined the next book for you?” Twilight asked.

“Have y'all met her?” Applejack asked.

“Yes. But, how?” Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, she told me...” Rainbow Dash put her muzzle right next to Twilight's ear and whispered the juicy spoiler.

“Oh, come on.” Twilight shook her head. “That's ridiculous. How could he have-” Twilight looked over her shoulder. “Actually, he's the only one who could have! NO!” Twilight dropped to the floor and plugged her ears just as Rainbow had earlier that day.

“That was my reaction too!” Rainbow nodded.

“Well, she didn't seem all that bad to me.” Applejack shrugged. “She just wanted to help me out around the farm.”

Just then, Rarity came bursting into the library. “I-it's better that y-you didn't...” She sobbed, her mascara running down her face.

“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, a shocked look on her face as she saw her friend in tears. “What happened?”

“That little saboteur came into m-my boutique.” Rarity began. “She said she would help, I tried to say no, but she insisted. She... She...” Rarity threw back her head and screamed. “It's all ruined!”

“I'm sure it's not so bad.” Applejack assured her.

“Not so bad?” Rarity snapped back to serious. “Not so bad? What do you mean 'not so bad'! That-that little miss perfect destroyed my dresses and ruined my fabric. I'll never finish in time for the show!”

“How many dresses do you need?” Twilight asked.

“At least six.” rarity hiccoughed.

“That's nothing to you!” Rainbow Dash assured her. “I've seen you make six dresses in one day. You have just under a week, you'll be fine.”

“But.” Rarity put a hoof to her forehead. “What if she comes back to wreak havoc on my work again!”

“I'm sure she just needs a good talking to.” Applejack nodded. “she'll come around.”

“Good luck with that.” Fluttershy whispered, stepping out from the bookshelf.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “How long have you been here?”

“The whole time.” Fluttershy lowered her head, draping her pink mane over her face.

“More importantly, what d'you mean, good luck?” Applejack enquired.

“She doesn't really listen to reason.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Or anything else anypony says.”

“Okay, so we've all had some weird run-ins with Best Pony.” Twilight reasoned. “But do any of us actually know anything about her?”

“She's an OC.” Applejack stated.

“Oh.” Twilight and Rarity said in unison. “That explains a lot.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked, confused by what had just been said. “What's an OC?”

“Sugar cube.” Applejack walked over to Fluttershy and looked her in the eye. “An OC is a pony like us. The only difference is that, instead of being born, they just appear one day. Nopony is really sure where they come from. But when they do appear, they have a knowledge of our entire world, and apparently have an entire life's experience already under their belt. Some are hard to pick out, they blend in like you and me. They're really hard to spot. But others stick out like a sore thumb, whatever that is. Our new 'bestie', Best Pony falls into that category.”

“Hold on.” Twilight said with a sudden realization. “I did some reading into this sort of thing. I read somewhere that a pony like Best Pony is called a Mary Sue.”

“A what now?” Applejack asked.

“A Mary Sue.” Twilight explained. “In there 'bios' they are perfect, better than perfect in fact. They normally have some kind of relation to a main group of ponies, or whatever subject they apply to. Other than that, they can instantly make friends with anypony, or instantly make enemies. For instance, a Mary Sue could have all of us as friends or we would really, really hate her for no reason.”

“I have plenty of reason.” Rarity stated, wiping streaked mascara off of her face.

“There are other signs of a Mary Sue, but I won't go into them right now.” Twilight noted. “The main thing is, when they enter into our world, some of the magic that makes them so perfect stays with them, but the rest disappears. So, Best Pony still has a great voice and great looks, but any talents she was written to have, like sewing-”

“Or talking to animals.” Fluttershy cut in.

“Or apple-bucking.” Applejack stated.

“Or doing a Sonic Rainboom.” Rainbow Dash huffed.

“Or sewing.” Rarity sobbed. The rest of them looked at her as if to say 'she already said that'. Rarity read the looks and sighed. “Well, it's twice as important to me.”

“All of those things have left her.” Twilight explained. “She's no more special than anyone else.”

“So, what do we do about it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We need to show her that she isn't perfect.” Twilight stated, pacing back and forth across the library. “But we need to do it in a friendly way. Or she'll think we are part of the group that really hates her.”

“And we'd better do it fast.” Rarity nodded quickly. “Before she changes her bio to say that she can do something dangerous.”

“Cutie Mark Crusader Carpenters! Yay!” The three fillies shouted as they sat for their daily meeting in their clubhouse.

Due to a freak accident, there was a gaping hole in the roof of the rickety tree house. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom decided not to ask for help or adult supervision, and decided to fix it themselves. Apple Bloom had taken a shaky wooden ladder from the barn because it looked like it would not be missed if Applejack or Big Mac found out it was missing. Scootaloo had 'borrowed' some tools from the Apple family, and Sweetie Belle had found some unused wood from the last barn raising.

The three of them looked up at the hole. It wasn't too big, but it would be a lot of work for the three fillies. They started to size up all the work they would have to do.

“We'll need to set up the ladder and have two of us supporting it.” Apple Bloom nodded.

“When I get on the roof, I'll need someone on the inside to make sure I'm going straight.” Scootaloo noted.

“Then there'll be all that hammering and banging and hitting our hooves.” Sweetie Belle winced, looking down at her little hooves.

“Don't forget about the hot sun beating down, and the splinters we'll get from all of this work.” Apple Bloom said, tiptoeing across the floor as if to dodge invisible splinters.

“And someone needs to go back and forth to get the next board.” Scootaloo groaned. She huffed and wiped sweat off of her brow. “Man. This carpentry stuff is hard.” She trotted over to a mat on the floor. “I think we all deserve a five minute break.”

“Definitely.” Apple Bloom nodded vigorously.

“I'm pooped.” Sweetie Belle added, collapsing to the floor in a heap.

The three fillies laid around on the floor until they heard a sound on the roof. It sounded like something big and heavy stomping its way across. Scootaloo's eyes shot up to where she heard the noise come from.

“What is it?” Apple Bloom asked, lowering her voice so whatever was on the roof wouldn't hear her.

“I don't know.” Scootaloo shook her head. “But it landed on the roof.”

“Why would anything want to land on the roof?” Sweetie Belle shook, reminded of the random encounter earlier with a certain pink pony.

“Maybe it's Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo perked up and tried to peer through the hole. “Rainbow Dash!” She called, hoping her honorary sister would reply. She caught sight of a rainbow maned mare through the roof and got even more excited. “Rainbow Dash! Hey, girls, it's Rainbow Dash.”

“Don't be too sure.” Sweetie Belle cautioned.

“Who else could it be?” Scootaloo asked, not noticing the pink mare behind her.

“Me!” Best Pony shouted behind the little orange filly. “Can I help?”

Scootaloo was so surprised that her tiny wings started beating and she flipped onto her face. She looked up through her legs to see Best Pony staring down at her. Like a proud cat, Scootaloo rolled back onto her legs as if she had meant to flip over in the first place. She dusted herself off and faced Best Pony.

“Who are you?” Scootaloo frowned.

“I'm Best Pony!” The pink mare smiled widely.

“No you're not.” Scootaloo shook her head quickly. “Rainbow Dash is best pony.”

“Can we talk for a moment?” Sweetie Belle asked the OC as she dragged Scootaloo away from Best Pony.

“Sure, I can wait!” Best Pony bounced.

The three fillies huddled, Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. “We need to get her out of here.”

“That wouldn't be very nice.” Apple Bloom shook her head.

“You don't know what she can do.” Sweetie Belle explained. “She destroyed my sister's dresses and fabric.”

“She thought she was better than Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo moped, hardly recognizing the topic at hand.

“You have to listen to me.” Sweetie Belle hissed. “She could destroy the whole clubhouse.”

“She says she wants to help.” Apple Bloom pleaded. “And we need all he help we can get with all the work we're doing.”

“But Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“But, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo whined, still not realizing that anyone had said anything.

“It's final.” Apple Bloom decided. “Besides, we can't just turn down ponies. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are all-inclusive.”

“That's not what that means.” Sweetie Belle muttered, and Apple Bloom gave her a look. “Fine... She can help. But don't say I didn't warn you.”

“You guys are the best!” Best Pony squealed, having joined the huddle.

“You said you'd wait.” Apple Bloom frowned.

“I did.” Best Pony nodded. “For about ten seconds. Then I got bored. You guys looked like you were having a ton of fun! So, what am I helping you fillies with?”

“We need to patch the roof.” Apple Bloom stated with authority. “D'you know how to do that?”

“Of course I do.” Best Pony nodded. “I worked this farm when I was your age.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.

“Yeah!” Best Pony bounced, almost putting another hole in the roof.

“This is going to be a long job...” Sweetie Belle shook her head.

“Maybe she's like us.” Apple Bloom whispered to Sweetie Belle. “Maybe she doesn't know what she's good at.”

“I'll give you a hint.” Best Pony whispered in Sweetie Belle's other ear. “I'm good at everything. It's in my bio, I swear.”

Author's Note

This can only get worse for everyone. It's in her bio, I swear!