Tales of the True Mare Do Wellby TheCyberneticAlicornChaptersChapter 1: Mare Do Well ReturnsChapter 2: Reflections in a DreamChapter 3: Dream Eater ReformedChatper 4: Disappearances in PonyvilleChapter 5: Duel with the Water SpiritChapter 6: An Unknown AdversaryChapter 7: Ne'er Do WellChapter 1: Mare Do Well ReturnsAs Dash confronts her friends, a young unicorn listens from behind a nearby building. "So, the imposters have been reveled" She thought to herself as she turned to leave. The mare brushed her light grey mane out of her face and walked towards the outskirts of ponyville. On the outskirts, there lay a house, secluded from the rest of town. The mare entered the house and closed the door behind her. With a sigh, she looked down at her cutie mark, a flowing cape on her purple coat. Hanging on a hook on the wall, a long brimmed hat and a mask. A cape and costume lay folded on a chair beside it. "If i had been able to speak for myself, i could have reveled the imposter" She thought to herself as she tried to vocalize her thought, which she appeared unable to do. "Again my lack of ability to speak has raised issues" She thought, picking up her hat. Her mind wandered to thoughts of her school life, thoughts of being made fun of for her inability to speak. "Well, now that the imposters are gone" she considered, picking up the mask and pulling it over her face "I can help the ponies of ponyville once again". She looks up at a photo of herself with her name on it. "Forgotten Sound.... I wonder if anyone outside of my parents still remember my name" She wandered as she looked out her window towards Canterlot "I hope things are going good for them". After donning the rest of her costume as the night began to fall, she left her house and headed towards ponyville. The night was quiet as Sound walked the back alleys of ponyville. Her costume made her seem almost invisible in the dark of the night. Luna's bright moon was hidden behind the buildings. She glanced around and spotted two young colts sneaking around with what looked like a bunch of firecrackers. Using her magic, Sound lifted herself up onto the rooftop and tracked the colts as they headed toward the main square. She picked up the colts speaking in hushed whispers and she leaned in to listen. "Hehe this is going to be so great" the one colt said as he began to place firecrackers around the hall "When these go off, the whole town will be awoken by the noise and will not know who did it, such a great prank". Sounds head shot up when she heard what they were planning, she knew it would upset many of the ponies in town to be woken up at this hour. Without hesitation, Sound jumped down from the rooftop and ran towards them. The two colts looked up when they heard the sound of someone trotting towards them. "Sly, It's Mare Do Well, Lets bolt" said the other colt as the one called Sly nodded in agreement. Sound was quick on her feet and with a slide kick managed to trip up the other colt as Sly continued running. She quickly looked around saw a half broken branch on a nearby tree. She used her magic to break it off of the tree and toss it in front of Sly, causing him to trip over it. She lifted them with her magic and brought them back to where they left the firecrackers. She merely pointed to them and then to a spot on the ground in front of her, indicating she wanted them to collect the firecrackers and bring them to her. The two colts hung their heads and started collected the firecrackers. After they were done, she indicated that they could go. "It was only going to be a joke" Sly muttered under his voice as the two walked away. Sound gathered up the firecrackers and carried them off. She took them home till she determined what to do with them. Chapter 2: Reflections in a DreamSound entered her house with a sigh, having been out as Mare Do Well most of the night. She placed the firecrackers down by the her bed and removed her costume before collapsing on her bed in exhaustion. She glanced out of her window in the direction of the Everfree Forest. In her tired state, she thought she saw a pair of glowing eyes, but a blink later they were gone and she thought it must of just been from how tired she was. As dawn began to break, Sound yawned and drifted to sleep. Sound eyes sprung open to find herself gazing up at her old school from when she was a foal. Her eyes darted around, everything seemed exactly the same. Just as she began to put things together several foals started to walk into the school around her, however they were all more like shadows. Only one foal was defined, and Sound was shocked when she saw the young foal, a younger version of herself. As Sound was finally determining what was going on, the shadows and her younger version disappeared. She noticed one still standing there and as she looked at it, it grinned as if it saw her before it too disappeared into the school building. Sound followed into the school to find a scene she remembered very clearly. "Hey Forgotten, how was your day yesterday." a young colt said to her younger self as the shadows cleared off of him "Oh, that's right you can't tell us." He and his friends broke out in laughter "Sorry Sound, we forgot you were born a mute." He said snickering though his laughter The younger Forgotten Sound merely glared at them before turning to leave, but the group of colts blocked her path. "Whats wrong Sound, can't take a joke" One of the other colts said "I guess your special talent isn't humor" Young Sound pushed her way past the colts, trying not to give then the satisfaction of a reaction. Sound looked at her older self as she sat down at her desk in the far back corner. "I remember this day, the day i got my cutie mark" Sound thought to herself As she pondered this, she felt something pass by her. She looked up and saw it was the same shadowy figure that she saw before. He was the only one that was still shadowed and again had a grin as he passed. Suddenly the scene was enveloped in black and Sound reappeared on the playground. She glance around and saw her younger self playing by herself and nearby the same group of colts confronting another young filly. The colts were teasing her about her lack of a cutie mark and pushing her around. "This is where i decided to step in and stand up for her" Sound thought to herself, looking over to her younger self as she looks over at the scene and started walking towards them. Young Sound pushed the colts aside and stud in front of the young filly.The colts looked at her before they started laughing. "Hey look, Speechless is standing up for her." The same colt from before chuckled Young Sound glared at them as pushed them aside to let the filly run. As she did there was a flash of light and on her flank appeared the shape of a flowing cape. Suddenly as this event happened the area became black the only things remaining were her and that same shadowed creature, now sporting a fanged grin and his eye were glowing red, the same eyes she had saw in the Everfree Forest before she fell asleep. His shape was becoming more and more defined now, sporting a long truck from his face, his ears similar to that of a wolf, his front legs looking like that of a tiger. The rest of its body was fairly pony shaped and it was flouting on a dark purple cloud. A long white strip was going from her into his fanged mouth. She stepped back as she remembered this creature, a dream devouring creature her mother told her about when she was younger call a Baku. She now understood why she was reliving this moment of her past, the creature was drawing on her memories in order to induce dreams for him to devour, and it had picked this one because it was the one most prominent in her mind. Kekekekekekekeke The Baku's chuckles echoed as it continued to eat away at her dream Sound ran at the creature and tried to stop it, but it swiped its claw and knocked her to the ground. She lay on the ground stunned by the swipe, but something came to her in this instance. The Baku was invading her mind, but it was still her mind. She closed her eyes and thought, and when she opened her eyes, the pain from the swipe had faded. The Baku's grin faded as the Dream Stream started to pull away from him as she thought against him. The Baku's cloud also began to shrink, indicating his power diminishing. He rushed towards the Dream Stream as it was retreating back to Sound, fanged grin wide open and claws outstretched. He clasped his fangs down on the end of the Stream and began pulling on it. Sound deepened her thought as if she was having an mental tug-o-war with the Baku. The Baku swiped at her again and her focus was lost. The stream extended and the Baku's cloud began to grow again. Sound was kneeling on the ground, still trying to pull away from the Baku. In that moment, the instance when she gained her cutie mark and how she gained it by standing up for someone who needed help. As she thought of this, her eyes lit up. If she lost to this creature, it would continue eating the dreams of ponies all over ponyville and get stronger and stronger. Suddenly with a glow her Mare Do Well costume formed around her. With one strong mental tug, she pulled the stream back and the Baku with it. The Baku went flying off of its cloud and its slammed into the ground in front of sound. He let out an earsplitting screech and the blackness was lit up with a bright flash. Sounds eyes opened to the morning sun filtering though her window. She was in a cold sweat as she awoke, glancing around at her room. On the ground lay the shadowed figure of the Baku in a daze. She needed to think of what to do with him, she couldn't just release him or he would just go back to eating dreams. Using her magic, she restrained him so that he couldn't escape while she left to search for a way to deal with it. With the creature restrained, she quickly left to look for a solution as she knew that when the Baku regained consciousness it wouldn't take long for it to break free. Chapter 3: Dream Eater ReformedSound pondered to herself as she walked ponyville, trying to recall what her mother had told her about Baku when she was a kid. Nothing was coming to mind and she figured she had to do research on Baku and quick. She turned her head towards the local library, thinking they were sure to having something. Sound was hesitant because she didn't know the pony who lived there, but she decided she had to try before the Baku awakened and returned to tormenting ponies dreams. She walked up to the front door and looked at it. The young mare thought to herself for a moment as to how she would convey what she needed and just as she was about to knock the door opened in front of her and a purple mare stood before her. "Oh hello, I don`t recognize you, Do you live here in town?" the purple coated mare said, a shocked look on her face from seeing Sound standing there "Is there something i can help you with?" Sound recognized the mare as one of the ones who had impersonated her. Sound nodded to the first question, but paused for a moment as she thought of how to answer the second one. The mare stood there looking confused as Sound tried to come up with and idea. Sound pointed to the books in her library, then made a motion like she was reading a book. "What's with the miming, can you just tell me what you need" The mare responded with the same confused look. Sound merely shook her head, then peering into the room she saw a pencil and paper laying on a table. Using her magic, Sound levitated it over and wrote what she needed. I'm looking for a book about Baku She wrote this and held it up for the mare to see "Baku? .... hmmmm i think i read something about that, one moment" She said, disappearing into the library. Sound waited for a few moments before the mare returned with a large book in her hoof. "Here we go, Magical Beast Throughout the Land" She stated as she handed the book to Sound "May i ask, why you want to know about Baku" Sound didn't want to reveal a Baku had been in town so she made up and excuse. Scribbling on the other side of the paper, she wrote her response on it. I'm Just Curious The purple mare seems like she had more questions, but Sound didn't have time and quickly wrote that she was in a hurry before she took off. As she reached her house, she was flipping from page to page till she found the article on Baku. Closing the door behind her, she glanced over to the Baku. Who was beginning to stir. She began to read the Baku article. Baku A dream-devouring creature that is able to enter a sleeping beings dream, eating the good dreams and leaving the nightmares. A Baku devours dreams as a way to enhance its own power. The stronger the dream in which the Baku eats, the more powerful it becomes. To make a dream stronger, a Baku will use its magic to draw out a beings strongest memory so as to make the dream have an emotional weight. Appearing as a pony-like creature, a Baku's notable features are its soulless red eyes, its fanged grin, long trunk, tiger-like front claws, and the purple cloud it flouts on. "I know all this, where is a mention on handling them" Sound thought, scanning the rest of the page While Baku are in the Dream Realm, their strength is stronger then in the real world. However should a Baku be defeated in the Dream Realm, they will be removed from the dream by force. Should this happen the Baku will be in a shadowed state of being half in the Dream Realm and half in the real world, this is your chance to stop one. While in this state, a Baku is greatly weakened. Should a Dream Charm is place around it in this state, it will limit the Baku magic and prevent it from eating the good dreams and making it need to eat the nightmares to survive. This makes the Baku helpful as they remove the fear-filled nightmares rather then leaving them. A Dream Charm can be made from anything, one must only use the spell contained on this page. The spell draws on a powerful dream of the caster, embedding it into the charm. This dream acts as the catalyst to control the Baku's magic. The dream can be derived from a memory without worry, for it doesn't draw on the memory itself, but the resulting dream. Sound closed the book and quickly looked around her home. She found a chain and after looking at the page a bit more, she casts the spell to turn the chain into a Dream Charm. While casting the spell, she recalled the dream of the past night, the dream of how she got her cutie mark. Since that was the memory the Baku drew on, she figured it would be the best dream to limit it. After a bit of time, the spell was complete and she place the charm around the Baku's neck. Sound stepped back as the Baku reeled, it was clear the spell was working. The Baku awoke and flouted up onto his cloud. The Baku looked at Sound with its creepy fanged grin, but despite that grin always being on its face, it seemed as though the Baku's thoughts had shifted. Though he still looked like he always did, Sound felt that it was wordlessly apologizing for its attempts to devour her dream. With a magical glow the Baku vanished, his fanged grin and red eyes remaining for a few seconds after as if it was and after image. Sound let out a sigh, relived that the Baku wouldn't cause more problems for the ponies of ponyville. She looked up at a picture of her taken by her parents the day after she gained her cutie mark. "Helping those who need it." She thought, looking down at her cutie mark before grabbing her costume " Even if they don't know its me, it is still refreshing to know that im helping in any way i can." Chatper 4: Disappearances in PonyvilleMany days passed since Sound's encounter with the Baku. The town had been rather quiet, nothing requiring the assistance of Mare Do Well in days. Sound was enjoying the downtime, but her was always on alert so she is ready when Mare Do Well is needed again. During a walk though town, Sound paused when she overheard something said by two ponies talking nearby. "Did you hear the rumor going around" One of the two said "They say that there have been ponies going missing all around town" "Missing?" the other replied "No one knows where they have gone?" "No, but there are a few theories." The first one continued "The most common involves a glowing light seen on the edge of the Everfree Forest." "But these are just rumors right?" the other questioned "Well I don't know, I haven't seen Glyph Reader lately" the first replied " She heard the rumor and was curious as always and i haven't seen her since." "Hmmm strange disappearances, I may need to look into this" Sound thought to herself as see headed home "If something is going on, then those ponies who have disappeared may be in danger." Sound waited till nightfall before dawning her Mare Do Well Costume and heading toward the Everfree Forest. She climbed up onto a nearby roof top and watched the outskirts. It wasn't long before she spotted a mare by herself standing on the outskirts. Sound recognized her as one of the two she heard the rumor from. It wasn't long before the rumor was made fact when a bright green light appeared in front of the mare on the outskirts. The mare stared into it, almost entranced in it and as it moved into the forest, she followed. Sound descended from the rooftop and quickly rushed after the mare. The forest was creepy at night then it was during the day. It was a dark night and one could barely see a foot in front of themselves. The only thing visible was the green light in the distance, its glow reflecting off of the trees. The light twisted and turned, many times Sound nearly lost it before she caught sight of it. The light kept moving before it came into a clearing by a small lake. Gathered around the lake were several figures, hard it see in the darkness, but they looked pony shaped. The heads of the figures turned and tracked the light as it passed. The mare who had been following it joined in with the crowd. The light stopped in front of the lake and a sound echoed through the area "Thank you Wisp, this number should do well" The voice said as the water began to swirl. The water bubbled and swirled as the form of a horse-like creature appeared in the center. The creature was jet black and had aquamarine scales in patches over its body. His mane was made of seaweed and it had a fin running down its back, ending at the tip of its dolphin-like tail. His mane appeared to be suspended in midair as if it was underwater. The creature stood on the surface of the water as if it was solid ground. Sound had seen this creature in Magical Beast Throughout the Land. If she recalled correctly, the creature was called a Kelpie, a water spirit that haunts lakes and rivers. It's said that a Kelpie will lure ponies to the water in which it haunts so that it can feed off the life-force from its victims. While it doesn't kill its victims, it weakens them to that they can't flee. "A group of local ponies to serve me" The Kelpie said to the Wisp "You've managed to keep them here so that i only need to feed once" "Feed once? So he hasn't fed on them yet." Sound thought Sound used her magic and lifted a nearby rock, flinging it at the Kelpie. The Kelpie noticed it coming and before it hit him, he turned into water so the rock passed through him. "Wisp, it seems you have brought an unwelcomed guest" The Kelpie said, looking directly at Sound "The Local Hero, Mare Do Well" The Kelpie motioned its backwards hoof and the Wisp began to glow, causing the group of ponies to make a path between the Kelpie and Sound. Sound walked up till she was several feet away from the Kelpie. "So, someone get wise to me" The Kelpie chuckled "Lucky for you, had you been here any later and it would have been to late" The Kelpie stepped off of the water so that he was face to face with Sound. "But the question is, what to you plan to do about it Mare Do well" He said looking down at her Sound released a blast of magic into the Kelpie's chest and it looked like he exploded, however moments later, the water reformed into the Kelpie who stud there laughing at Sound. Chapter 5: Duel with the Water SpiritA light wind blew through the forest as the Kelpie and Sound stared each other down. Sound wasn't given a moment to think before the Kelpie blasted her into a tree with a torrent of water. Sound staggered to her feet, looking around for something to keep the kelpie off her long enough for her to come up with and idea. She tossed a few large branches that had broken off of the tree at him with her magic, and when the Kelpie was reforming, she disappeared into the shadowy treetops. "That tricky little..... WISP!, find her!" The Kelpie yelled as the Wisp took off in the direction Sound had been Sound was moving from tree to tree circling around the Kelpie. Her mind was frantic as she thought of an idea. The Kelpie was able to turn into water, this renders and none magic plans useless. She stopped for a moment as the Wisp passed by her location. Her purple costume blended in the dark of the forest, so the Wisp passed by her without taking notice. "I can't waste much more time." Sound thought to herself, looking out at the Kelpie "If I don't act soon, he may take the chance to feed." She then noticed something as the Wisp passed again. She noticed that the Wisp wasn't coming to close to the trees. As she looked closer, she noticed it wasn't a green light, but a flouting green flame. Sound was sparked with an idea, if the Wisp is working with a water spirit then it must not be afraid of being extinguished. She wasn't sure if this plan would work, but if it did she may have a chance. As the Wisp passed, Sound jumped out behind it. As she did, she made a branch pass through the Wisp, lighting it on fire. The Kelpie's head turn the instant he heard movement and fired another water torrent. Sound held up the burning branch up in front of her. As she had thought rather then going out, the flame continued to burn bright as it turned the torrent into steam. "As i thought, the Wisp isn't worried about going out because it flame is eternal." Sound thought, with a grin coming to her face under her mask. The Kelpie bore a shocked look, confused about how his torrent had no effect. Sound used her magic to place branches all around the lake, as she ran around it, lighting the branches as she passed. As the water of the small lake began to heat from the flames, it was clear that the Kelpie was suffering from it like he was connected to the water due to him haunting it. He began frantically firing torrent after torrent at Sound in an attempt to stop her before she finished encircling the lake. The torrents got weaker and weaker before the Kelpie fell to his knee, panting heavily. "Wait!" The Kelpie yelled, just as Sound was about to finish the circle "The water in the center is still cold enough, If you finish that circle, the heat will be to much and i will be unable to even move" Sound glared at the Kelpie, holding the branch just over the last section that was far enough away from the rest to not catch on its own. She pointed her free hoof to the large group of ponies. The Kelpie glanced over to the group and let out a sigh "Fine, I'll release them." He said, indicating to the Wisp to release its control "Now Leave." Sound nodded as she lay the branch she had on the stone that encircled the lake. The Kelpie limped passed her and slipped into the deep cold center of the lake. The first of the group to come to was a sandstone colored earth pony, with a cutie mark of a magnifying glass with a strange hieroglyph in the center. She had a satchel with her that had several scrolls and a magnifying glass sticking out of it. As she looked around she brushed her medium length auburn mane out of her face. "Where am i? Last thing i remember was looking at a glowing light" The young mare said as the rest began to regain control of themselves. With a quick look around, the young mare saw Sound standing there. "Mare Do Well!" The mare said as Sound walked past her. Sound merely indicated for her and the others to follow her out of the forest. The young sandstone mare walked beside her "Mare Do Well, Names Glyph Reader, what happened to us? what was with the ring of flames around the lake?" She kept asking, trying to fill in the gaps so she knew what was going on "So this is Glyph Reader, those two I overheard were right, she is a curious one" Sound thought to herself Glyph Reader was still asking questions up until they reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest. With the group save, Sound merely bowed her head and disappeared into the fading night. Dawn broke soon after and Glyph Reader stud there with a puzzled look on her face. "That Mare Do Well, she didn't answer and of my questions" She said "She is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, my favorite kind of mystery" Glyph rummaged through her satchel, pulling out many different items that looked positively ancient. She rummaged for a few moments before she pulled out a journal. She also picked up a pencil in her mouth and began to write on a page in it. Mare Do Well Local hero Nothing is knew about her. She never talks and disappears as quickly as she appears. Everything about her is a complete mystery. Having met her myself, i have become interested in uncovering the secrets surrounding her. I will have to make time in my study of ancient items to look into this more. With that, Glyph closed the journal and put everything back in her satchel. Sound shut the door to her house behind her as the sun was peeking over the horizon. She let out a sigh as she hung her mask and hat up. She sat down on the edge of her bed before falling back onto it and looking up at the ceiling. "It's a good thing i heard about this when i did." She thought to herself "Had i been any later and it may have been to late." A.N: Before anyone asks, Yes Glyph is a fan of the Daring Do series of books, she always has one in her satchel. Chapter 6: An Unknown AdversaryThe next day was full of energy with the missing ponies returned. The talk of Mare Do Well was again in the public ear, which Sound wasn't to fond of. Everywhere she went she was hearing her alter ego's name left and right, praising her for finding missing ponies and leading them to safety. None of the missing ponies remembered the Kelpie or the Wisp, but Sound knew that was likely for the best. "Hmmmm First the Baku, Now the Kelpie." Sound thought as she walked the streets of Ponyville "It seems I’m on a roll when it comes to helping them from creatures they didn't know were there." Sound let out a sigh, fighting off magical creatures is something she wasn't use to, but if it protected the ponies of her town then she was happy to do it. She stopped as she saw a familiar sandstone pony darting from pony to pony with a small note pad out asking questions about Mare Do Well. Sound stepped back when the young mare came up to her. “Hey there, names Glyph Reader, local artifact maniac and researcher of anything mysterious.” She said “I’m going around town inquiring about Mare Do Well, so have you heard any rumors about her you would care to divulge” Sound stepped back and shock her head, rather caught of guard about how upfront about what she doing. Glyph cocked her eyebrow up at Sound’s response “Nothing at all, really? The whole town is full of talk about her.” Glyph said with an inquisitive look “ You really have nothing to say” Sound sighed and pointed to her notepad, making a writing motion with her hoof. Glyph looked rather confused as to why Sound was miming, but handed her the notepad and pencil. Sound flipped to a blank page and quickly scribbled down something. She held the notepad up to Glyph I’m sorry, I’m afraid I was born a mute, so since I can’t speak, I don’t really socialize with the other ponies. I have only ever heard Mare Do Well’s name through overhearing it, so I’m can’t provide you with any new information. Glyph read the note over and looked up with a rather ashamed look. ` “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you weren’t able to talk” Glyph said looking rather upset with herself Sound merely held her hoof up and shook her head, indicating it was fine. “ Still just cause you aren’t able to talk, that’s no reason to not socialize” Glyph continued “You live here, so why haven’t you made any friends around her” Glyph, noticing she had asked a question, handed the notepad to Sound. She quickly wrote down a quick note, clearly trying to get away from Glyph. I just never thought about it, I’m content on my own Glyph looked at the note with a perplexed look before suddenly looking up and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Alright then, I’ve decided I’ll be your first friend” She said with a smile “Anyway, here write your name here” Sound let out a sigh, but reluctantly wrote her name down. “Forgotten Sound…. Alright, well I have to get to work on my Mare Do Well research” Glyph said as she slid the notepad in her satchel “Well I hope to talk more with you soon, Sound!” With that Glyph took off, deciding to check the local news for more info on Mare Do Well. As Glyph disappeared from sight, Sound heard a lot of noise from the park nearby. Sound trotted toward the noise and saw a fire had started in the park. The local fire colts were on it, but seemed to be having trouble controlling it. Sound quickly ducked behind a nearby building and pulled her costume out of the saddle bag she had with her. Hiding the saddle bag, the now costumed Sound ran toward the fire colts. Using her magic, she levitated water from the nearby lake. She began pouring the water on the fire in accordance with the fire colts so that they were able to get even coverage on the fire to prevent it from spreading more them it already had. With her added assistance, the flame died down and extinguished. The fire colts all looked relieved as they turned to face Sound. “Thank you Mare Do Well, without your help we may not have been able to stop the flame as quickly as we did.” One of them said to her, to which she nodded Sound looked up at sky and out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw something move. She thought she had seen a black streak zoom by, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Sound chalked it up to her imagination before nodding again to the fire colts and taking off. “Well that could have gone badly.” Sound thought to herself Sounds mind drifted back to that blur, was it really her imagination. For all she knew it could have been the one who started that fire, which that thought had her concerned. With this possibility in mind, she thought it may be a good idea scout around as Mare Do Well in case something else should happen. Sound watched from the rooftops for a few hours and as night began to fall and ponies began returning home for the night, she let out a sigh of relief. She was about to turn in for the night as well until she heard a scream from the town hall. Her head turned to the tree about side of the hall was about to fall on a mare as she was leaving the hall. With haste, Sound descended from the rooftop and rushed to her aid. Catching the tree as it fell, Sound used her magic as extra force to keep the tree up while the mare got about of the way. When the mare was safe, Sound slid out of the way as the tree fell next to her. On the back of the tree a cracked indent, as if something had hit it was great force to cause it to fall. Looking up, she saw it again, this time sure of it. She watched as a black streak zoomed off towards the foot of the nearby mountains. Without giving the mare she saved even a chance to speak, Sound darted after the streak. Whatever it was, it was faster then she was on foot, but she was keeping up enough to keep it in sight. As they reached the foot of the mountain, Sound took cover in a nearby bush. As what she followed landed, Sound was shocked at what she saw. Standing there was a Pegasus colt dressed in a costume similar to her own. It was pitch black in color and he wore equally black boots over his hooves. His cape seemed to divulge into two pieces, almost like an extra set of wings, that were jagged at the end , almost resembling dragon wings. Rather then a hat he had his rather disheveled red mane flowing free and over his eyes he had a pair of sinister looking red goggles. On his shoulder was the marking of an angular red N. Chapter 7: Ne'er Do WellSound watched as the Pegasus glanced up at the bush she was hiding in. His goggles glinted as the very last shreds of light faded and night engulfed the sky. “There is no point hiding, I know you followed me.” The Pegasus said as he looked up at the mountain Sound stepped out and looked down at the young colt. “Didn’t take me long to get your attention did it, Mare Do Well?” The Pegasus said still looking at the mountain, as if he wasn’t even paying attention to her presence. “ I must say I’m impressed that you kept up with me.” The Pegasus turned to face Sound as he continued to speak. “Your reputation isn’t wrong about you” He said as he began to circle around her “ Appearing at the perfect time to help with the fire, coming out of nowhere and catching a tree that was already half fallen, even keeping up with me as I flew” Sound kept her eyes on the Pegasus as he circled around her. The colt flapped his wings and hovered a few feet above the ground. “ I’m surprised though“ The colt said with a rather concerned look on his face “I mean you followed me, but your not asking anything, no questions about my motives or questions about who I am?” The Pegasus flew up to a nearby cloud and gave it a swift kick, sending a lightning bolt down right at Sound. Sound quickly side stepped as the bolt grazed her shoulder. “Still quiet after that.” The colt said with a shrug “You are a peculiar one Mare Do Well.” “What is with this guy?” Sound thought to herself “It’s like he is dying to tell me why he’s doing all this” Her thoughts were proven when the colt began to speak again “Alright, you don’t have to ask” He said as he landed again “Why I’m I doing this, well its really quite simple, personal amusement” He turned so that his and Sounds eyes met. “Regular life is so dull, nothing as interesting as going hoof to hoof with the famous Mare Do Well” He continued with a chuckle under his breath “ If some ponies get hurt because of what I do, so be it” Sound stepped back as he just continued chuckling. “This guy is crazy, causing harm to others because his life is dull” Sound thought to himself “ There’s got to be something else behind it, no pony just goes from normal to thinking causing destruction is fun just like that” The colt looked at Sound as if he had read her mind. “I know what your thinking, why would somepony just decide hurting others is a cause for fun” He said “Well that is not something you need to know, all you need to know is that I am your new enemy, I am Ne’er Do Well!” Ne’er Do Well flew up and kicked the cloud again, as if trying to use the lightning as dramatic effect. “I can’t stop to think about this nuts motives, it seems he is serious about it and if I let him get away , he may hurt somepony” Sound thought to herself, firing a blast of magic at Ne’er Do Well The blast hit Ne’er Do Well square in his side, slamming him into the side of the mountain. Ne’er Do Well rubbed his head and got to his feet, sidestepping just in time to avoid a rock that fell from him hitting the mountain. Sound shot a few more blasts, but this time Ne’er Do Well was ready for them and dodged them . “Getting serious are we, its about time.” Ne’er Do Well said, taking to the sky Suddenly Sound was bombarded by a flurry of lightning bolts which she managed to dodge, but then Ne’er Do Well swooped down and started flying circles around her at astonishing speeds. Sound struggled to keep her balance as the wind speed around her picked up. She began kicking as she felt her feet lift of the ground as Ne’er Do Well gradually rose in height. As Ne’er Do Well reached a fair height, he stopped circling and the wind speed died down, causing Sound to fall. She fired her magic at the ground in order to slow her decent and hit the ground with a light thud. “Hehe how was the fall Mare Do Well” Ne’er Do Well laughed before being blasted by another magical blast. Ne’er Do Well hit the ground and Sound tackled him. He struggled and managed to kick her off of him before taking flight again. Ne’er Do Well glanced at the mountain and remembered when he slammed into it. With a swift kick, the sound of cracking rock rang out. Sound’s head swiveled around and looked up at the mountain where a cascade of rocks come crashing down. Sound focused her magic into a barrier around her as the rocks were about to hit her. Ne’er Do Well laughed but glanced around as he heard a twig snap behind them. It seemed someone else had followed them here, a sandstone colored pony who had been writing down what she had been witnessing in a journal. Ne’er Do Well gave a smirk as she saw he had spotted her. As Sound shook off the bits of debris that had caused from the rocks hitting her barrier, she heard a small scream. She saw Ne’er Do Well taking off carrying the sandstone pony. “Glyph Reader! Why was she here” She thought to herself She immediately gave chase, but Ne’er Do Well had gotten a significant head start and with his greater speed she lost sight of him. She stopped and looked around when a piece of paper landed on her nose. Looking up she saw more papers falling in the path Ne’er Do Well had speeded off to. Sound noticed they were pages from Glyph Readers journal. The page on her nose was what made her realize this as it was the page her had wrote the info she had gathered on Mare Do Well. “Leaving me a paper trail, that cleaver girl.” Sound said as she ran in the direction the trail lead, picking up the pages that had writing on them as she well. It wasn’t long until she came to a large cave. She could her noises coming from the cave and she was sure this was where they were because the paper trail ended at the entrance. She folded the pages she had gathered and put them into her hat for safe keeping. Without delay, she preceded into the cave. Deep inside the cave, Ne’er Do Well stud looking towards the long twisting path back to the entrance. He stood there looking as if he wasn’t even paying attention to his captive. “I saw you leaving that paper trail.” he said, not even bothering to look at her “I know she’s coming.” Glyph Reader was looking around that cave with its blank walls. Nothing but a few gems stuck out in the whole cave. “Mare Do Well is coming, but I can’t just let her save me again without me doing anything” Glyph thought to herself “ Oh, what would Daring Do think of in this situation”
Chapter 1: Mare Do Well ReturnsAs Dash confronts her friends, a young unicorn listens from behind a nearby building. "So, the imposters have been reveled" She thought to herself as she turned to leave. The mare brushed her light grey mane out of her face and walked towards the outskirts of ponyville. On the outskirts, there lay a house, secluded from the rest of town. The mare entered the house and closed the door behind her. With a sigh, she looked down at her cutie mark, a flowing cape on her purple coat. Hanging on a hook on the wall, a long brimmed hat and a mask. A cape and costume lay folded on a chair beside it. "If i had been able to speak for myself, i could have reveled the imposter" She thought to herself as she tried to vocalize her thought, which she appeared unable to do. "Again my lack of ability to speak has raised issues" She thought, picking up her hat. Her mind wandered to thoughts of her school life, thoughts of being made fun of for her inability to speak. "Well, now that the imposters are gone" she considered, picking up the mask and pulling it over her face "I can help the ponies of ponyville once again". She looks up at a photo of herself with her name on it. "Forgotten Sound.... I wonder if anyone outside of my parents still remember my name" She wandered as she looked out her window towards Canterlot "I hope things are going good for them". After donning the rest of her costume as the night began to fall, she left her house and headed towards ponyville. The night was quiet as Sound walked the back alleys of ponyville. Her costume made her seem almost invisible in the dark of the night. Luna's bright moon was hidden behind the buildings. She glanced around and spotted two young colts sneaking around with what looked like a bunch of firecrackers. Using her magic, Sound lifted herself up onto the rooftop and tracked the colts as they headed toward the main square. She picked up the colts speaking in hushed whispers and she leaned in to listen. "Hehe this is going to be so great" the one colt said as he began to place firecrackers around the hall "When these go off, the whole town will be awoken by the noise and will not know who did it, such a great prank". Sounds head shot up when she heard what they were planning, she knew it would upset many of the ponies in town to be woken up at this hour. Without hesitation, Sound jumped down from the rooftop and ran towards them. The two colts looked up when they heard the sound of someone trotting towards them. "Sly, It's Mare Do Well, Lets bolt" said the other colt as the one called Sly nodded in agreement. Sound was quick on her feet and with a slide kick managed to trip up the other colt as Sly continued running. She quickly looked around saw a half broken branch on a nearby tree. She used her magic to break it off of the tree and toss it in front of Sly, causing him to trip over it. She lifted them with her magic and brought them back to where they left the firecrackers. She merely pointed to them and then to a spot on the ground in front of her, indicating she wanted them to collect the firecrackers and bring them to her. The two colts hung their heads and started collected the firecrackers. After they were done, she indicated that they could go. "It was only going to be a joke" Sly muttered under his voice as the two walked away. Sound gathered up the firecrackers and carried them off. She took them home till she determined what to do with them.
Chapter 2: Reflections in a DreamSound entered her house with a sigh, having been out as Mare Do Well most of the night. She placed the firecrackers down by the her bed and removed her costume before collapsing on her bed in exhaustion. She glanced out of her window in the direction of the Everfree Forest. In her tired state, she thought she saw a pair of glowing eyes, but a blink later they were gone and she thought it must of just been from how tired she was. As dawn began to break, Sound yawned and drifted to sleep. Sound eyes sprung open to find herself gazing up at her old school from when she was a foal. Her eyes darted around, everything seemed exactly the same. Just as she began to put things together several foals started to walk into the school around her, however they were all more like shadows. Only one foal was defined, and Sound was shocked when she saw the young foal, a younger version of herself. As Sound was finally determining what was going on, the shadows and her younger version disappeared. She noticed one still standing there and as she looked at it, it grinned as if it saw her before it too disappeared into the school building. Sound followed into the school to find a scene she remembered very clearly. "Hey Forgotten, how was your day yesterday." a young colt said to her younger self as the shadows cleared off of him "Oh, that's right you can't tell us." He and his friends broke out in laughter "Sorry Sound, we forgot you were born a mute." He said snickering though his laughter The younger Forgotten Sound merely glared at them before turning to leave, but the group of colts blocked her path. "Whats wrong Sound, can't take a joke" One of the other colts said "I guess your special talent isn't humor" Young Sound pushed her way past the colts, trying not to give then the satisfaction of a reaction. Sound looked at her older self as she sat down at her desk in the far back corner. "I remember this day, the day i got my cutie mark" Sound thought to herself As she pondered this, she felt something pass by her. She looked up and saw it was the same shadowy figure that she saw before. He was the only one that was still shadowed and again had a grin as he passed. Suddenly the scene was enveloped in black and Sound reappeared on the playground. She glance around and saw her younger self playing by herself and nearby the same group of colts confronting another young filly. The colts were teasing her about her lack of a cutie mark and pushing her around. "This is where i decided to step in and stand up for her" Sound thought to herself, looking over to her younger self as she looks over at the scene and started walking towards them. Young Sound pushed the colts aside and stud in front of the young filly.The colts looked at her before they started laughing. "Hey look, Speechless is standing up for her." The same colt from before chuckled Young Sound glared at them as pushed them aside to let the filly run. As she did there was a flash of light and on her flank appeared the shape of a flowing cape. Suddenly as this event happened the area became black the only things remaining were her and that same shadowed creature, now sporting a fanged grin and his eye were glowing red, the same eyes she had saw in the Everfree Forest before she fell asleep. His shape was becoming more and more defined now, sporting a long truck from his face, his ears similar to that of a wolf, his front legs looking like that of a tiger. The rest of its body was fairly pony shaped and it was flouting on a dark purple cloud. A long white strip was going from her into his fanged mouth. She stepped back as she remembered this creature, a dream devouring creature her mother told her about when she was younger call a Baku. She now understood why she was reliving this moment of her past, the creature was drawing on her memories in order to induce dreams for him to devour, and it had picked this one because it was the one most prominent in her mind. Kekekekekekekeke The Baku's chuckles echoed as it continued to eat away at her dream Sound ran at the creature and tried to stop it, but it swiped its claw and knocked her to the ground. She lay on the ground stunned by the swipe, but something came to her in this instance. The Baku was invading her mind, but it was still her mind. She closed her eyes and thought, and when she opened her eyes, the pain from the swipe had faded. The Baku's grin faded as the Dream Stream started to pull away from him as she thought against him. The Baku's cloud also began to shrink, indicating his power diminishing. He rushed towards the Dream Stream as it was retreating back to Sound, fanged grin wide open and claws outstretched. He clasped his fangs down on the end of the Stream and began pulling on it. Sound deepened her thought as if she was having an mental tug-o-war with the Baku. The Baku swiped at her again and her focus was lost. The stream extended and the Baku's cloud began to grow again. Sound was kneeling on the ground, still trying to pull away from the Baku. In that moment, the instance when she gained her cutie mark and how she gained it by standing up for someone who needed help. As she thought of this, her eyes lit up. If she lost to this creature, it would continue eating the dreams of ponies all over ponyville and get stronger and stronger. Suddenly with a glow her Mare Do Well costume formed around her. With one strong mental tug, she pulled the stream back and the Baku with it. The Baku went flying off of its cloud and its slammed into the ground in front of sound. He let out an earsplitting screech and the blackness was lit up with a bright flash. Sounds eyes opened to the morning sun filtering though her window. She was in a cold sweat as she awoke, glancing around at her room. On the ground lay the shadowed figure of the Baku in a daze. She needed to think of what to do with him, she couldn't just release him or he would just go back to eating dreams. Using her magic, she restrained him so that he couldn't escape while she left to search for a way to deal with it. With the creature restrained, she quickly left to look for a solution as she knew that when the Baku regained consciousness it wouldn't take long for it to break free.
Chapter 3: Dream Eater ReformedSound pondered to herself as she walked ponyville, trying to recall what her mother had told her about Baku when she was a kid. Nothing was coming to mind and she figured she had to do research on Baku and quick. She turned her head towards the local library, thinking they were sure to having something. Sound was hesitant because she didn't know the pony who lived there, but she decided she had to try before the Baku awakened and returned to tormenting ponies dreams. She walked up to the front door and looked at it. The young mare thought to herself for a moment as to how she would convey what she needed and just as she was about to knock the door opened in front of her and a purple mare stood before her. "Oh hello, I don`t recognize you, Do you live here in town?" the purple coated mare said, a shocked look on her face from seeing Sound standing there "Is there something i can help you with?" Sound recognized the mare as one of the ones who had impersonated her. Sound nodded to the first question, but paused for a moment as she thought of how to answer the second one. The mare stood there looking confused as Sound tried to come up with and idea. Sound pointed to the books in her library, then made a motion like she was reading a book. "What's with the miming, can you just tell me what you need" The mare responded with the same confused look. Sound merely shook her head, then peering into the room she saw a pencil and paper laying on a table. Using her magic, Sound levitated it over and wrote what she needed. I'm looking for a book about Baku She wrote this and held it up for the mare to see "Baku? .... hmmmm i think i read something about that, one moment" She said, disappearing into the library. Sound waited for a few moments before the mare returned with a large book in her hoof. "Here we go, Magical Beast Throughout the Land" She stated as she handed the book to Sound "May i ask, why you want to know about Baku" Sound didn't want to reveal a Baku had been in town so she made up and excuse. Scribbling on the other side of the paper, she wrote her response on it. I'm Just Curious The purple mare seems like she had more questions, but Sound didn't have time and quickly wrote that she was in a hurry before she took off. As she reached her house, she was flipping from page to page till she found the article on Baku. Closing the door behind her, she glanced over to the Baku. Who was beginning to stir. She began to read the Baku article. Baku A dream-devouring creature that is able to enter a sleeping beings dream, eating the good dreams and leaving the nightmares. A Baku devours dreams as a way to enhance its own power. The stronger the dream in which the Baku eats, the more powerful it becomes. To make a dream stronger, a Baku will use its magic to draw out a beings strongest memory so as to make the dream have an emotional weight. Appearing as a pony-like creature, a Baku's notable features are its soulless red eyes, its fanged grin, long trunk, tiger-like front claws, and the purple cloud it flouts on. "I know all this, where is a mention on handling them" Sound thought, scanning the rest of the page While Baku are in the Dream Realm, their strength is stronger then in the real world. However should a Baku be defeated in the Dream Realm, they will be removed from the dream by force. Should this happen the Baku will be in a shadowed state of being half in the Dream Realm and half in the real world, this is your chance to stop one. While in this state, a Baku is greatly weakened. Should a Dream Charm is place around it in this state, it will limit the Baku magic and prevent it from eating the good dreams and making it need to eat the nightmares to survive. This makes the Baku helpful as they remove the fear-filled nightmares rather then leaving them. A Dream Charm can be made from anything, one must only use the spell contained on this page. The spell draws on a powerful dream of the caster, embedding it into the charm. This dream acts as the catalyst to control the Baku's magic. The dream can be derived from a memory without worry, for it doesn't draw on the memory itself, but the resulting dream. Sound closed the book and quickly looked around her home. She found a chain and after looking at the page a bit more, she casts the spell to turn the chain into a Dream Charm. While casting the spell, she recalled the dream of the past night, the dream of how she got her cutie mark. Since that was the memory the Baku drew on, she figured it would be the best dream to limit it. After a bit of time, the spell was complete and she place the charm around the Baku's neck. Sound stepped back as the Baku reeled, it was clear the spell was working. The Baku awoke and flouted up onto his cloud. The Baku looked at Sound with its creepy fanged grin, but despite that grin always being on its face, it seemed as though the Baku's thoughts had shifted. Though he still looked like he always did, Sound felt that it was wordlessly apologizing for its attempts to devour her dream. With a magical glow the Baku vanished, his fanged grin and red eyes remaining for a few seconds after as if it was and after image. Sound let out a sigh, relived that the Baku wouldn't cause more problems for the ponies of ponyville. She looked up at a picture of her taken by her parents the day after she gained her cutie mark. "Helping those who need it." She thought, looking down at her cutie mark before grabbing her costume " Even if they don't know its me, it is still refreshing to know that im helping in any way i can."
Chatper 4: Disappearances in PonyvilleMany days passed since Sound's encounter with the Baku. The town had been rather quiet, nothing requiring the assistance of Mare Do Well in days. Sound was enjoying the downtime, but her was always on alert so she is ready when Mare Do Well is needed again. During a walk though town, Sound paused when she overheard something said by two ponies talking nearby. "Did you hear the rumor going around" One of the two said "They say that there have been ponies going missing all around town" "Missing?" the other replied "No one knows where they have gone?" "No, but there are a few theories." The first one continued "The most common involves a glowing light seen on the edge of the Everfree Forest." "But these are just rumors right?" the other questioned "Well I don't know, I haven't seen Glyph Reader lately" the first replied " She heard the rumor and was curious as always and i haven't seen her since." "Hmmm strange disappearances, I may need to look into this" Sound thought to herself as see headed home "If something is going on, then those ponies who have disappeared may be in danger." Sound waited till nightfall before dawning her Mare Do Well Costume and heading toward the Everfree Forest. She climbed up onto a nearby roof top and watched the outskirts. It wasn't long before she spotted a mare by herself standing on the outskirts. Sound recognized her as one of the two she heard the rumor from. It wasn't long before the rumor was made fact when a bright green light appeared in front of the mare on the outskirts. The mare stared into it, almost entranced in it and as it moved into the forest, she followed. Sound descended from the rooftop and quickly rushed after the mare. The forest was creepy at night then it was during the day. It was a dark night and one could barely see a foot in front of themselves. The only thing visible was the green light in the distance, its glow reflecting off of the trees. The light twisted and turned, many times Sound nearly lost it before she caught sight of it. The light kept moving before it came into a clearing by a small lake. Gathered around the lake were several figures, hard it see in the darkness, but they looked pony shaped. The heads of the figures turned and tracked the light as it passed. The mare who had been following it joined in with the crowd. The light stopped in front of the lake and a sound echoed through the area "Thank you Wisp, this number should do well" The voice said as the water began to swirl. The water bubbled and swirled as the form of a horse-like creature appeared in the center. The creature was jet black and had aquamarine scales in patches over its body. His mane was made of seaweed and it had a fin running down its back, ending at the tip of its dolphin-like tail. His mane appeared to be suspended in midair as if it was underwater. The creature stood on the surface of the water as if it was solid ground. Sound had seen this creature in Magical Beast Throughout the Land. If she recalled correctly, the creature was called a Kelpie, a water spirit that haunts lakes and rivers. It's said that a Kelpie will lure ponies to the water in which it haunts so that it can feed off the life-force from its victims. While it doesn't kill its victims, it weakens them to that they can't flee. "A group of local ponies to serve me" The Kelpie said to the Wisp "You've managed to keep them here so that i only need to feed once" "Feed once? So he hasn't fed on them yet." Sound thought Sound used her magic and lifted a nearby rock, flinging it at the Kelpie. The Kelpie noticed it coming and before it hit him, he turned into water so the rock passed through him. "Wisp, it seems you have brought an unwelcomed guest" The Kelpie said, looking directly at Sound "The Local Hero, Mare Do Well" The Kelpie motioned its backwards hoof and the Wisp began to glow, causing the group of ponies to make a path between the Kelpie and Sound. Sound walked up till she was several feet away from the Kelpie. "So, someone get wise to me" The Kelpie chuckled "Lucky for you, had you been here any later and it would have been to late" The Kelpie stepped off of the water so that he was face to face with Sound. "But the question is, what to you plan to do about it Mare Do well" He said looking down at her Sound released a blast of magic into the Kelpie's chest and it looked like he exploded, however moments later, the water reformed into the Kelpie who stud there laughing at Sound.
Chapter 5: Duel with the Water SpiritA light wind blew through the forest as the Kelpie and Sound stared each other down. Sound wasn't given a moment to think before the Kelpie blasted her into a tree with a torrent of water. Sound staggered to her feet, looking around for something to keep the kelpie off her long enough for her to come up with and idea. She tossed a few large branches that had broken off of the tree at him with her magic, and when the Kelpie was reforming, she disappeared into the shadowy treetops. "That tricky little..... WISP!, find her!" The Kelpie yelled as the Wisp took off in the direction Sound had been Sound was moving from tree to tree circling around the Kelpie. Her mind was frantic as she thought of an idea. The Kelpie was able to turn into water, this renders and none magic plans useless. She stopped for a moment as the Wisp passed by her location. Her purple costume blended in the dark of the forest, so the Wisp passed by her without taking notice. "I can't waste much more time." Sound thought to herself, looking out at the Kelpie "If I don't act soon, he may take the chance to feed." She then noticed something as the Wisp passed again. She noticed that the Wisp wasn't coming to close to the trees. As she looked closer, she noticed it wasn't a green light, but a flouting green flame. Sound was sparked with an idea, if the Wisp is working with a water spirit then it must not be afraid of being extinguished. She wasn't sure if this plan would work, but if it did she may have a chance. As the Wisp passed, Sound jumped out behind it. As she did, she made a branch pass through the Wisp, lighting it on fire. The Kelpie's head turn the instant he heard movement and fired another water torrent. Sound held up the burning branch up in front of her. As she had thought rather then going out, the flame continued to burn bright as it turned the torrent into steam. "As i thought, the Wisp isn't worried about going out because it flame is eternal." Sound thought, with a grin coming to her face under her mask. The Kelpie bore a shocked look, confused about how his torrent had no effect. Sound used her magic to place branches all around the lake, as she ran around it, lighting the branches as she passed. As the water of the small lake began to heat from the flames, it was clear that the Kelpie was suffering from it like he was connected to the water due to him haunting it. He began frantically firing torrent after torrent at Sound in an attempt to stop her before she finished encircling the lake. The torrents got weaker and weaker before the Kelpie fell to his knee, panting heavily. "Wait!" The Kelpie yelled, just as Sound was about to finish the circle "The water in the center is still cold enough, If you finish that circle, the heat will be to much and i will be unable to even move" Sound glared at the Kelpie, holding the branch just over the last section that was far enough away from the rest to not catch on its own. She pointed her free hoof to the large group of ponies. The Kelpie glanced over to the group and let out a sigh "Fine, I'll release them." He said, indicating to the Wisp to release its control "Now Leave." Sound nodded as she lay the branch she had on the stone that encircled the lake. The Kelpie limped passed her and slipped into the deep cold center of the lake. The first of the group to come to was a sandstone colored earth pony, with a cutie mark of a magnifying glass with a strange hieroglyph in the center. She had a satchel with her that had several scrolls and a magnifying glass sticking out of it. As she looked around she brushed her medium length auburn mane out of her face. "Where am i? Last thing i remember was looking at a glowing light" The young mare said as the rest began to regain control of themselves. With a quick look around, the young mare saw Sound standing there. "Mare Do Well!" The mare said as Sound walked past her. Sound merely indicated for her and the others to follow her out of the forest. The young sandstone mare walked beside her "Mare Do Well, Names Glyph Reader, what happened to us? what was with the ring of flames around the lake?" She kept asking, trying to fill in the gaps so she knew what was going on "So this is Glyph Reader, those two I overheard were right, she is a curious one" Sound thought to herself Glyph Reader was still asking questions up until they reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest. With the group save, Sound merely bowed her head and disappeared into the fading night. Dawn broke soon after and Glyph Reader stud there with a puzzled look on her face. "That Mare Do Well, she didn't answer and of my questions" She said "She is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, my favorite kind of mystery" Glyph rummaged through her satchel, pulling out many different items that looked positively ancient. She rummaged for a few moments before she pulled out a journal. She also picked up a pencil in her mouth and began to write on a page in it. Mare Do Well Local hero Nothing is knew about her. She never talks and disappears as quickly as she appears. Everything about her is a complete mystery. Having met her myself, i have become interested in uncovering the secrets surrounding her. I will have to make time in my study of ancient items to look into this more. With that, Glyph closed the journal and put everything back in her satchel. Sound shut the door to her house behind her as the sun was peeking over the horizon. She let out a sigh as she hung her mask and hat up. She sat down on the edge of her bed before falling back onto it and looking up at the ceiling. "It's a good thing i heard about this when i did." She thought to herself "Had i been any later and it may have been to late." A.N: Before anyone asks, Yes Glyph is a fan of the Daring Do series of books, she always has one in her satchel.
Chapter 6: An Unknown AdversaryThe next day was full of energy with the missing ponies returned. The talk of Mare Do Well was again in the public ear, which Sound wasn't to fond of. Everywhere she went she was hearing her alter ego's name left and right, praising her for finding missing ponies and leading them to safety. None of the missing ponies remembered the Kelpie or the Wisp, but Sound knew that was likely for the best. "Hmmmm First the Baku, Now the Kelpie." Sound thought as she walked the streets of Ponyville "It seems I’m on a roll when it comes to helping them from creatures they didn't know were there." Sound let out a sigh, fighting off magical creatures is something she wasn't use to, but if it protected the ponies of her town then she was happy to do it. She stopped as she saw a familiar sandstone pony darting from pony to pony with a small note pad out asking questions about Mare Do Well. Sound stepped back when the young mare came up to her. “Hey there, names Glyph Reader, local artifact maniac and researcher of anything mysterious.” She said “I’m going around town inquiring about Mare Do Well, so have you heard any rumors about her you would care to divulge” Sound stepped back and shock her head, rather caught of guard about how upfront about what she doing. Glyph cocked her eyebrow up at Sound’s response “Nothing at all, really? The whole town is full of talk about her.” Glyph said with an inquisitive look “ You really have nothing to say” Sound sighed and pointed to her notepad, making a writing motion with her hoof. Glyph looked rather confused as to why Sound was miming, but handed her the notepad and pencil. Sound flipped to a blank page and quickly scribbled down something. She held the notepad up to Glyph I’m sorry, I’m afraid I was born a mute, so since I can’t speak, I don’t really socialize with the other ponies. I have only ever heard Mare Do Well’s name through overhearing it, so I’m can’t provide you with any new information. Glyph read the note over and looked up with a rather ashamed look. ` “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you weren’t able to talk” Glyph said looking rather upset with herself Sound merely held her hoof up and shook her head, indicating it was fine. “ Still just cause you aren’t able to talk, that’s no reason to not socialize” Glyph continued “You live here, so why haven’t you made any friends around her” Glyph, noticing she had asked a question, handed the notepad to Sound. She quickly wrote down a quick note, clearly trying to get away from Glyph. I just never thought about it, I’m content on my own Glyph looked at the note with a perplexed look before suddenly looking up and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Alright then, I’ve decided I’ll be your first friend” She said with a smile “Anyway, here write your name here” Sound let out a sigh, but reluctantly wrote her name down. “Forgotten Sound…. Alright, well I have to get to work on my Mare Do Well research” Glyph said as she slid the notepad in her satchel “Well I hope to talk more with you soon, Sound!” With that Glyph took off, deciding to check the local news for more info on Mare Do Well. As Glyph disappeared from sight, Sound heard a lot of noise from the park nearby. Sound trotted toward the noise and saw a fire had started in the park. The local fire colts were on it, but seemed to be having trouble controlling it. Sound quickly ducked behind a nearby building and pulled her costume out of the saddle bag she had with her. Hiding the saddle bag, the now costumed Sound ran toward the fire colts. Using her magic, she levitated water from the nearby lake. She began pouring the water on the fire in accordance with the fire colts so that they were able to get even coverage on the fire to prevent it from spreading more them it already had. With her added assistance, the flame died down and extinguished. The fire colts all looked relieved as they turned to face Sound. “Thank you Mare Do Well, without your help we may not have been able to stop the flame as quickly as we did.” One of them said to her, to which she nodded Sound looked up at sky and out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw something move. She thought she had seen a black streak zoom by, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Sound chalked it up to her imagination before nodding again to the fire colts and taking off. “Well that could have gone badly.” Sound thought to herself Sounds mind drifted back to that blur, was it really her imagination. For all she knew it could have been the one who started that fire, which that thought had her concerned. With this possibility in mind, she thought it may be a good idea scout around as Mare Do Well in case something else should happen. Sound watched from the rooftops for a few hours and as night began to fall and ponies began returning home for the night, she let out a sigh of relief. She was about to turn in for the night as well until she heard a scream from the town hall. Her head turned to the tree about side of the hall was about to fall on a mare as she was leaving the hall. With haste, Sound descended from the rooftop and rushed to her aid. Catching the tree as it fell, Sound used her magic as extra force to keep the tree up while the mare got about of the way. When the mare was safe, Sound slid out of the way as the tree fell next to her. On the back of the tree a cracked indent, as if something had hit it was great force to cause it to fall. Looking up, she saw it again, this time sure of it. She watched as a black streak zoomed off towards the foot of the nearby mountains. Without giving the mare she saved even a chance to speak, Sound darted after the streak. Whatever it was, it was faster then she was on foot, but she was keeping up enough to keep it in sight. As they reached the foot of the mountain, Sound took cover in a nearby bush. As what she followed landed, Sound was shocked at what she saw. Standing there was a Pegasus colt dressed in a costume similar to her own. It was pitch black in color and he wore equally black boots over his hooves. His cape seemed to divulge into two pieces, almost like an extra set of wings, that were jagged at the end , almost resembling dragon wings. Rather then a hat he had his rather disheveled red mane flowing free and over his eyes he had a pair of sinister looking red goggles. On his shoulder was the marking of an angular red N.
Chapter 7: Ne'er Do WellSound watched as the Pegasus glanced up at the bush she was hiding in. His goggles glinted as the very last shreds of light faded and night engulfed the sky. “There is no point hiding, I know you followed me.” The Pegasus said as he looked up at the mountain Sound stepped out and looked down at the young colt. “Didn’t take me long to get your attention did it, Mare Do Well?” The Pegasus said still looking at the mountain, as if he wasn’t even paying attention to her presence. “ I must say I’m impressed that you kept up with me.” The Pegasus turned to face Sound as he continued to speak. “Your reputation isn’t wrong about you” He said as he began to circle around her “ Appearing at the perfect time to help with the fire, coming out of nowhere and catching a tree that was already half fallen, even keeping up with me as I flew” Sound kept her eyes on the Pegasus as he circled around her. The colt flapped his wings and hovered a few feet above the ground. “ I’m surprised though“ The colt said with a rather concerned look on his face “I mean you followed me, but your not asking anything, no questions about my motives or questions about who I am?” The Pegasus flew up to a nearby cloud and gave it a swift kick, sending a lightning bolt down right at Sound. Sound quickly side stepped as the bolt grazed her shoulder. “Still quiet after that.” The colt said with a shrug “You are a peculiar one Mare Do Well.” “What is with this guy?” Sound thought to herself “It’s like he is dying to tell me why he’s doing all this” Her thoughts were proven when the colt began to speak again “Alright, you don’t have to ask” He said as he landed again “Why I’m I doing this, well its really quite simple, personal amusement” He turned so that his and Sounds eyes met. “Regular life is so dull, nothing as interesting as going hoof to hoof with the famous Mare Do Well” He continued with a chuckle under his breath “ If some ponies get hurt because of what I do, so be it” Sound stepped back as he just continued chuckling. “This guy is crazy, causing harm to others because his life is dull” Sound thought to himself “ There’s got to be something else behind it, no pony just goes from normal to thinking causing destruction is fun just like that” The colt looked at Sound as if he had read her mind. “I know what your thinking, why would somepony just decide hurting others is a cause for fun” He said “Well that is not something you need to know, all you need to know is that I am your new enemy, I am Ne’er Do Well!” Ne’er Do Well flew up and kicked the cloud again, as if trying to use the lightning as dramatic effect. “I can’t stop to think about this nuts motives, it seems he is serious about it and if I let him get away , he may hurt somepony” Sound thought to herself, firing a blast of magic at Ne’er Do Well The blast hit Ne’er Do Well square in his side, slamming him into the side of the mountain. Ne’er Do Well rubbed his head and got to his feet, sidestepping just in time to avoid a rock that fell from him hitting the mountain. Sound shot a few more blasts, but this time Ne’er Do Well was ready for them and dodged them . “Getting serious are we, its about time.” Ne’er Do Well said, taking to the sky Suddenly Sound was bombarded by a flurry of lightning bolts which she managed to dodge, but then Ne’er Do Well swooped down and started flying circles around her at astonishing speeds. Sound struggled to keep her balance as the wind speed around her picked up. She began kicking as she felt her feet lift of the ground as Ne’er Do Well gradually rose in height. As Ne’er Do Well reached a fair height, he stopped circling and the wind speed died down, causing Sound to fall. She fired her magic at the ground in order to slow her decent and hit the ground with a light thud. “Hehe how was the fall Mare Do Well” Ne’er Do Well laughed before being blasted by another magical blast. Ne’er Do Well hit the ground and Sound tackled him. He struggled and managed to kick her off of him before taking flight again. Ne’er Do Well glanced at the mountain and remembered when he slammed into it. With a swift kick, the sound of cracking rock rang out. Sound’s head swiveled around and looked up at the mountain where a cascade of rocks come crashing down. Sound focused her magic into a barrier around her as the rocks were about to hit her. Ne’er Do Well laughed but glanced around as he heard a twig snap behind them. It seemed someone else had followed them here, a sandstone colored pony who had been writing down what she had been witnessing in a journal. Ne’er Do Well gave a smirk as she saw he had spotted her. As Sound shook off the bits of debris that had caused from the rocks hitting her barrier, she heard a small scream. She saw Ne’er Do Well taking off carrying the sandstone pony. “Glyph Reader! Why was she here” She thought to herself She immediately gave chase, but Ne’er Do Well had gotten a significant head start and with his greater speed she lost sight of him. She stopped and looked around when a piece of paper landed on her nose. Looking up she saw more papers falling in the path Ne’er Do Well had speeded off to. Sound noticed they were pages from Glyph Readers journal. The page on her nose was what made her realize this as it was the page her had wrote the info she had gathered on Mare Do Well. “Leaving me a paper trail, that cleaver girl.” Sound said as she ran in the direction the trail lead, picking up the pages that had writing on them as she well. It wasn’t long until she came to a large cave. She could her noises coming from the cave and she was sure this was where they were because the paper trail ended at the entrance. She folded the pages she had gathered and put them into her hat for safe keeping. Without delay, she preceded into the cave. Deep inside the cave, Ne’er Do Well stud looking towards the long twisting path back to the entrance. He stood there looking as if he wasn’t even paying attention to his captive. “I saw you leaving that paper trail.” he said, not even bothering to look at her “I know she’s coming.” Glyph Reader was looking around that cave with its blank walls. Nothing but a few gems stuck out in the whole cave. “Mare Do Well is coming, but I can’t just let her save me again without me doing anything” Glyph thought to herself “ Oh, what would Daring Do think of in this situation”
