Prologue
This Tide of Darkness
Equestria has changed; its innocence is lost.
Maybe it was Nightmare Moon that did it, planting the seed of evil in ponies’ hearts, to slowly grow and mature as time wore on. Perhaps it was Discord, his final vengeance attained by subtly sewing a little chaos, secretly instigating a little malign intent. Or maybe it was just us, slowly growing bored of our perfect little world. Maybe those cupcakes could be yours for free if nopony saw you, or maybe that annoying neighbour could be silenced through more cruel, wicked means than simply asking them to leave.
Ponies have changed; we just aren’t the same anymore.
Where once there was Harmony, now there is only darkness. Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty and Loyalty have been replaced; Wrath, Greed, Cruelty, Deception, and Betrayal reign supreme. It happened gradually at first; a petty theft over in Hoofington, or some heavy vandalism over in Baltimare. Such things were rare, but not unheard of, and the Guard put a swift, decisive end to it. And then, simple jealousy became green-eyed envy; a little irritation turned to outright rage. Ponies began to act on their feelings, and slowly, quietly, Equestria suffered an epidemic. Larceny, fraud, assault, rape, murder; indeed, all breeds of evil began to grow commonplace. Crime was on the rise in a would-be-perfect world, and even the Royal Guard could not stop it. Their laws held no sway over crimes that did not exist; their policies and procedures were useless in their attempts to quell the tide.
There were some who resisted. There were some who stood up against the darkness, holding tightly to what the world once was. There were some who fought back. But In the end, it was useless; no pony could look to another without fear of duplicity; no felon would cease his misdeeds, because there was no retribution for him. Nothing could stand against them.
But heroes are made by the times; when destiny calls, the chosen have no choice but to rise.
They created a symbol for all Equestria to believe in; a mare so strong, so determined to fight back that criminals would shudder at the mere mention of her name, and citizens would look to her with hope; a hero so extraordinary that nothing could hold her back, and nothing could stand in her way.
But the ponies who created her, who became her, were just ordinary ponies, and all ponies have their limits, their failings. One by one, they gave up and were lost, until finally, only one mare was left to wear the hat and cape.
She never gave up.
She never stopped fighting.
She swore upon her life that she would never give way until Equestria was returned to the way it was, for it was all she had to live for.
And she never did give up; as slowly as the tide had risen, it began to fall. Whispers of her deeds again began to sweep through the masses, bringing hope to those who needed it, and terror to those who wrought it; a Shadow which stalked the streets at night; a Hunter who never missed its prey; a Hero to the destitute, a Saviour to the world.
A Mare, like no other seen before or since.
Tales of her were remembered forever; stories of the Nightwalker were told for years to come.
She was never forgotten, and even in the end, when she, too, failed them, her name was always on their lips:
“Mare Do Well.”
