My Little Pony: Nine Elements Book 2

by BlueBioWolf

Chapter 13: The Mysterious Mare Do Well (S2:E8)

It was April 26th in Ponyville, the day of Rainbow’s 19th birthday. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack had their 18th, 18th, and 20th birthdays, respectively in that order. On this particular day, Scootaloo was hosting a gathering in the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” Scootaloo announced. “Welcome, everypony, to a celebration of one of the coolest ponies in all of Ponyville!” The clubhouse interior was decorated with Rainbow Dash posters. “Welcome to the Rainbow Dash Fan Club! Rainbow was a pony whom I always looked up to. Now that she’s one of the Elements of Harmony, more fillies like me and colts will have a place to come together to show our appreciation for her.”

“For the record,” Puppy Dog Tails said. “I’m just here to make sure my brothers don’t do anything stupid.”

“Rainbow, Rainbow, she’s our mare!” Snips cheered.

“If she can’t do it, we won’t care!” Snails cheered.

“That doesn’t sound very encouraging, Snails,” Snips said.

“It doesn’t?” Snails asked.

“And it’s already too late,” Tails said as he facehoofed.

As the first meeting of the fan club went on, Rainbow was moving some clouds that were forming over the clubhouse. She happened to listen to the ordeal and sighed to herself.

“This club,” she said to herself so nopony would hear her. “Is my parents all over again.”

Once she made sure the clouds were back in the right place, she flew back down towards Sugarcube Corner.

“Maybe a Neighopolotan milkshake will help me forget what I heard,” Rainbow said to herself.

When she got to Sugarcube Corner, she saw her friends there, too.

“Hey, Rainbow,” Pinkie said. “Here to enjoy a tasty treat?”

“A Neighopolotan milkshake,” Rainbow said. “Hold the cherry.”

“Somethin’ buggin’ ya, RD?” Applejack asked.

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow said. “Scootaloo formed a Rainbow Dash Fan Club.”

“So, what’s the problem?” Twilight asked.

“That is the problem,” Rainbow said. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what they’re doing. It’s just that I got a lot of praise for things when I was a filly from my parents, to the point where it just got embarrassing. Seriously, they considered me finishing toilet training an accomplishment.”

“You make it sound like it isn’t,” Rarity said, slightly disgusted.

“Everypony does it at some point,” Rainbow said. “It doesn’t need to be put in the newspaper when somepony does.”

“Oh, that’s what you mean,” Twilight said. “Anyway, a fan club can be good, but, everypony has things to be proud of. Maybe we should talk to Scootaloo about this, see if we can convince her to rework the club a bit.”

“The way she looks up to me?” Rainbow said. “She’s more likely to fanfilly out if I so much as set hoof in the club meetings. I just want to have a normal birthday today.”

“One normal birthday coming up,” Pinkie smiled. She then presented Rainbow with her Neighopolitan milkshake. Rainbow paid for the milkshake and began drinking from it when suddenly, her left ear twitched. “Rainbow, what’s wrong? Brain freeze?”

“No,” Rainbow said. “I can hear something.” She took her milkshake and flew out. She could hear a pony calling for help from a well. She called down. “Don’t worry! I’ll get you out!”

With that, she flew into the well and slowly carried the earth filly out of the well. Her opal mane, matching tail, and grayish mulberry coat were messy from the debris in the well.

“Care to explain how this happened, Aura?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah,” the filly, whose name was Aura, said. “I was trying to fetch water like my mom had asked me to, but, the bucket sort of got out of my hoof and I fell in. I’m not hurt, though. Just messy. Thank you for rescuing me, Miss Rainbow.”

Rainbow gently brought Aura down. A crowd of ponies witnessed this.

“Hey,” Rainbow said modestly. “I just did what anypony would have done. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It’s really no big deal.”

“Wow,” some pony in the crowd said. “She’s brave and modest! She really is amazing!”

Rainbow could see where this was going and decided to use her presence of mind to touch on a vital issue. “To keep this from happening again,” she said. “The well should be heightened a bit and should have a winch with a bucket on the end.”

“Brilliant ideas, Rainbow,” Mayor Mare said. “I’ll make sure to let a construction team know about this as soon as possible.”

Rainbow then made her way off. “Glad that’s over,” she said to herself. “Now, to celebrate my birthday with my friends.” She then heard a scream. “That sounds like Millie!”

It was. Millie was a mare with a pale pink coat, a platinum blond mane and tail with curls, and lime green eyes. Her Cutie Mark depicted three fans. She was screaming because she was out walking her baby in a pram, but, the pram accidentally got out of hoof and it’s racing away with her foal inside crying for help. Thinking quickly, Rainbow sped ahead of the pram and threw her weight against it to stop it. “They really need to start putting parking brakes on these things*,” Rainbow said.

A grateful, but still frightened Millie, ran towards Rainbow. “Thank you, Rainbow! You saved my baby!”

“Millie,” Rainbow said. “Can you please explain to me what happened before Cream Puff started rolling downhill?”

“I was walking her along,” Millie said. “Well, all of a sudden, I felt something on the bottom of my hoof. I went to check what it was, but, the pram started to roll away from me.”

“Well,” Rainbow said. “Next time, make sure you get to level ground before you check such things. Otherwise, something like this could happen again.”

“I will,” Millie said. “Thanks again.” She grabbed the pram grip with her mouth and pulled it to safety in time for Rainbow to see more ponies witnessed the rescue.

“Rainbow saves the day again!” a pony shouted. “She really is a hero!”

Oh, no, Rainbow thought. She then saw paparazzi ponies coming. She sighed in defeat. Just smile for the camera, Rainbow. They’ll get tired soon enough.

Rainbow gave a half-hearted smile. Ponies took her picture from every possible angle. The other guardians felt something was off.

“Something’s not right,” Rarity said. “Rainbow’s poses seem rather… half-hearted.”

“I wonder if she’s still feeling overwhelmed from learning about her fan club earlier,” Fluttershy said.

“If she is,” Applejack said. “She’s got a funny way o’ showin’ it.”

“We better keep our eyes on her,” Twilight said. “And be available in case she needs help.”

Thankfully for Rainbow, the rest of the day went off with minimal incident. “Whew,” she sighed. “Now, I can enjoy my birthday in peace.”

The next day, some elderly ponies were gathering on a wooden balcony. 

“Come on, Waddles,” a gambroge tan stallion with a thinning gray mane called. “We can’t enjoy our iced tea without ya.”

“On my way, Sand Trap,” said a light phthalo bluish gray stallion with few strands of a dark sapphire bluish gray combed-over mane of several strands of hair and a similarly styled tail, light cerulean eyes, large, thick-rimmed round glasses, a red bowtie, and a Cutie Mark depicting a bubble pipe. He stepped onto the balcony.

As Waddles walked onto the balcony, he didn’t notice a hairline crack in the wood of the deck. Once he was completely on the deck, the added weight caused the deck to give way. Rainbow, who was on weather detail at the time, saw this.

Of course another disaster has to happen, Rainbow said internally. May as well put on the hero act since that’s how ponies will see me these days. She then made her best effort to hide her exhaustion and sound heroic. “Never fear!” she said aloud, hoping she sounded more heroic than she felt. “Your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!”

So, she flew into action and grabbed the elder ponies before the deck crashed on the ground into splinters. She lowered them safely to the ground. “Before anypony starts cheering,” she said preemptively. “I’d like to know who forgot to make sure this deck would be able to support these senior citizens.”

One pony sheepishly raised a hoof.

“Well,” Rainbow said sternly. “Next time, make sure you don’t forget or something like this could happen again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the sheepish pony nodded.

“You can cheer now,” Rainbow said. Though, internally, she was really saying, “Let’s get this over with.”

On Rainbow’s word, most of the ponies cheered for Rainbow. At a distance, though, Rainbow’s friends watched. Applejack could tell with her Mystic Eyes that the pegasus wasn’t really feeling it.

“Huh, that’s weird,” the farm mare said. “She’s gettin’ cheers n’ admiration, but, she’s got a ‘let’s get this over with,’ vibe ta her.”

“Maybe we should talk to her before she blows her top,” Spike said.

“She seems to be handling it well enough,” Twilight said. “Let’s wait a little bit.”

This is not going to end well, Spike said internally.**

Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious pony was watching the guardians from afar. They were hiding in the shadows so as not to be detected. The pony’s eyes glowed a bluish-white aura as they seemed to be scanning the ponies. “Excellent,” the pony said quietly in a feminine voice. “These’ll serve me well."

Two days later, Rainbow was recounting the time she rescued Aura from the well before her fan club. The other guardians were watching from the background.

“So,” Rainbow said. “I said to them I did what anypony would have done.” Despite her intentions, she started to sound rather boastful.

“Still think it was a good idea to wait?” Spike said in bored annoyance.

“Okay, maybe it is time we talked to Rainbow about this,” Twilight said.

Rainbow came up to them and seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Before she could say anything, her ears pricked.

“Berry Punch?” Rainbow gasped. “Seriously, can we keep the disasters at bay for 10 minutes?”

She left in a hurry.

“Uh, you all heard that, right?” Spike asked. “It wasn’t just me?”

“We also heard it,” Rarity said. “Either she’s a fearfully convincing actress or she really is letting the fame get to her head.” She turned to Applejack. “What say you, Applejack?”

“It’s dwindlin’ dangerously close ta genuine,” Applejack said.

The next day, Rainbow was signing autographs. The sooner this is over, she said internally. The sooner I can get back to getting lettuce for Tank.

“This really means a lot, Rainbow Dash,” one pony said. “I want to be just like you.”

“Listen, Lemon Daze,” Rainbow said. “I’m flattered, but, a lot of the stuff I do is dangerous. If you try them without the practice I’ve had, you could get seriously hurt. And that’s the best case scenario.”***

Soon, the last pony had their Rainbow Dash memorabilia signed. Before Rainbow could sigh in relief, she heard Cherry Berry screaming. She looked to see her falling in a popped hot air balloon.

“Seriously?” Rainbow said. “Another disaster? Well, I guess it’s up to me to-”

But, before Rainbow could rush into action, a dark purple blur wooshed past her. All eyes turned to the rooftops.

“What is that?” a voice called from the crowd.

The mysterious figure made herself known. She wore a dark blue mask with light blue lens, a large purple fedora, a deep purple skin tight costume, blue woven exercise tape wrapped around each of her legs, and a long midnight blue flowing cape fastened with a brooch with the letter M. She leapt from rooftop to rooftop before safely removing Cherry Berry from the balloon’s basket.

“Who is that mysterious hero?” a voice called from the crowd.

The mare simply disappeared dramatically without a word.

“Yeah, good question,” Rainbow said to herself. “Who was that?”

“This mysterious mare has done well by our fair city today,” Mayor Mare said. “I dub this new masked hero 'The Mysterious Mare Do Well!’”

The ponies cheered for the Mysterious Mare Do Well’s rescue. Spike and Twilight simply watched in confusion.

“So,” Spike said. “Do they know what that name sounds like or…”

“Mare Do Well! Mare Do Well! Mare Do Well!” the crowd cheered.

“Okay, yeah, they know,” Spike said.

“Still,” Twilight said. “A pony dressed in an elaborate costume during the day to rescue somepony?”

“Seems a bit too coincidental, right?” Spike said.

“Right,” Twilight answered.

Rainbow stepped up. “Was that the weirdest thing ever or what?” she asked.

“That was the weirdest thing ever,” Spike said. “Are you doing okay, Rainbow?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rainbow said. She felt a bit relieved somepony else was able to save another. Though, something struck her as odd. “Hey, Cherry!” she called to Cherry Berry.

“Yes?” the cerise mare with blonde mane and tail replied.

“What happened before the balloon got that hole?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know,” Cherry replied. “I was flying the balloon just fine, but, all of a sudden, I heard a whooshing sound and the sound of the balloon’s fabric tearing. It was the strangest thing.”

This left Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow confused as officials investigated.

The next day, a carriage full of tourists was parked at the top of a hill while the pony pulling it was on break. The ponies inside were taking pictures from their view. Nopony noticed a bluish-white magical aura cutting the brakes. A short time later, the carriage began to roll slowly out of control, suddenly picking up speed.

Rainbow was on weather detail when she saw the runaway.

“Again?” Rainbow said. “Does nobody use brakes? This’ll take more effort than when I rescued Cream Puff in her pram, but-”

Before she could finish, Mare Do Well jumped in front of the carriage and stopped it with her back legs. The tourist ponies inside the carriage cheered.

“Mare Do Well has rescued us!” one of the tourist exclaimed happily.

Mare Do Well made another dramatic exit. Rainbow, who had seen everything, was aghast.

“Applejack’s Mare Do Well?!” she said, thinking of the strongest mare she knew. “I better talk to her about this before she gets hurt.”

Rainbow flew off. Once she did, the pony who was hauling the carriage ran up to the carriage and the tourists.

“How did this get over here?” he panted. “I thought I put the brakes on this thing.” He then examined the undercarriage and saw the brakes had been cut. “Who in Equestria would cut the brakes?”

Rainbow was making her way to Sweet Apple Acres when she passed a construction site. She didn’t notice a bluish-white magic aura tampering with one of the wooden construction vehicles.

“Okay, Crafty,” a supervisor pony said to a stallion named Crafty Crate. “Move those pillars over there.”

“You got it, boss,” Crafty said.

As he was operating his crane, he didn’t realize that the controls were tampered with, so the machine was going haywire. The pillar his crane was lifting collided with the framing of the building, causing a massive jolt.

Rainbow was alerted by the crash and was quick to act.

“Talking to Applejack can wait,” she said. “These ponies need-”

Once again, she was cut off by Mare Do Well navigating the falling rubble as if she knew in advance where they’d fall. Rainbow watched from afar.

“Wait,” she said, thoroughly confused. “Is that Pinkie Sense?” Lost in her confusion, she saw that Mare Do Well saved all the workers.

“Hey, thanks loads, Mare Do Well,” the supervisor pony said before Mare Do Well disappeared dramatically. He then turned to Crafty. “What the Tartarus were you doing, swinging that pillar around like a freakin’ pinata?!”

“I don’t know what happened, boss,” Crafty admitted. “The damn crane started acting up. I mean, I tried to move it gently and it acted like it had a mind of its own.”

“Well, if we don’t get that thing under control,” the supervisor said. “Somepony’ll get hurt. And I’m not taking the fall for it.”

So, the construction ponies had to pause work to make sure their machinery was in order. Rainbow overheard the conversation.

“Something fishy’s going on,” Rainbow said. “Either Applejack or Pinkie are Mare Do Well and these disasters are getting more frequent.”

So, Rainbow continued on. Little did she know her friends had witnessed everything.

“We better talk sense to Rainbow before she gets competitive,” Rarity said.

“We might already be too late,” Applejack said.

“Let’s follow her,” Twilight said as she levitated Spike onto her back. The little dragon had a look that said he was in deep thought. “Something on your mind, Spike?”

“These disasters are starting to become a pattern,” Spike said. “First, a disaster happens and then, this Mare Do Well comes along and rescues anypony who is around.”

“And Mare Do Well’s outfit looks suspiciously familiar,” Rarity said. “They look like a set of outfits I designed out of boredom the day before she showed up. When I woke up the next day, they were gone.”

“This is really strange,” Twilight said. “Rarity’s project designs go missing and the outfit Mare Do Well wears looks like them. The probability of this being a coincidence is exceedingly remote.”

“It is a lot to think about,” Fluttershy said. “But, for now, we should be there for Rainbow.”

“I also heard Rainbow say that either Applejack or Pinkie are Mare Do Well,” Spike said. “But, that’s impossible. Both were right beside us the whole time.”

“We better tell her that it isn’t us as her,” Pinkie said.

Meanwhile, at the Ponyville dam, a sledgehammer was held aloft by the same bluish-white magical aura that caused previous disasters that day. The hammer struck the dam, causing a crack. Water from the dam began to seep through the crack. The hammer vanished in a flash of light before it could be discovered.

Rainbow was flying when she saw the crack.

“How did this happen?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Oh, never mind! I got to plug it up!” She quickly flew to the crack and covered it with her hoof. “Not a proper fix,” she admitted. “But, it’ll have to do until help comes.” Then, a thought occurred to her. “Except nopony knows I’m even here or that there’s even a problem!” She facehoofed herself with her free front hoof. “I’m such an idiot!”****

Unbeknownst to her, a secondary pounding disrupted the dam further, causing the crack to get larger until the dam would burst. Rainbow saw the crack getting bigger than her hoof could cover. By now, she was more annoyed than scared. “The buck even is this week,” she said listlessly before the dam finally burst with her getting the full blast of the torrent of water. She managed to salvage herself on a branch that was in a cavernous wall. On the flat land on top of the trench was Mare Do Well. Rainbow saw her. “You again? Okay, Applejack or Pinkie, how are you going to fix this-”

But, before Rainbow could continue, Mare Do Well magically lifted her hat, which concealed a unicorn horn. The horn illuminated with a magical aura that Rainbow recognized as Twilight’s magical aura.

“Are you bucking for real?” Rainbow said as the dam was patched up.

Onlookers watched as the aura not only fixed the dam, but, also collected the flowing water from the dam back. Rainbow’s friends watched from another vantage point. Needless to say, they were shocked as well.

“Th-that horn had the color of my magic aura!” Twilight said. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or terrified by such mimicry.”

“Just who is this mysterious mare?” Pinkie pondered. “And why is she here? How is she doing all of this?”

“There’s definitely something wrong here,” Rarity said. “She’s too physically strong for a unicorn mare. And if she could use magic, especially on that scale, why didn’t she use it for saving Cherry Berry yesterday or preventing the other two disasters today?”

“Somethin’ mighty fishy’s goin’ on here,” Applejack said. “Fer now, we got ta set things straight n’ talk ta Rainbow.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow was frustrated. “Twilight’s Mare Do Well and making me look bad?” she said. “Well, I’ve had enough humiliation for today. I’m going home while I still have a shred of dignity.” She took off when suddenly, Mare Do Well flew right past her. “Okay, that does it!” She flew off for home, unaware that her friends saw it.

“She’s an alicorn?!” Pinkie said.

“But, that doesn’t make sense,” Twilight said. “We’ve seen her with her cape flapping before and she didn’t have wings then.”

“Well,” Applejack said. “At least she’s modest n’ humble, lettin’ her actions speak fer themselves.”

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you, Applejack,” Spike said. “You’ve bragged a bit about your own strength and quality of your family’s products yourself. And need I remind you of how much you believed you could harvest all of Sweet Apple Acres on your own?”*****

Applejack blushed for she knew he was right. “Ya got me there,” she admitted.

“By now, Rainbow probably thinks all of us are conspiring against her,” Spike said. “Be honest, did any of you want her to stop bragging that badly?”

“Maybe not stop altogether,” Twilight said. “But, I do have to admit she could tone it down a little bit. But, I would never conspire against her, I promise.”

“Each disaster Mare Do Well fixed did make Rainbow look bad,” Fluttershy said. “I’m starting to think Mare Do Well is taking this whole lesson in humility too far.”

“Either way,” Rarity said. “Something must be done about this.”

The next day, Rainbow was sulkily tending to Tank when she heard a knock at her door.

“Who is it?” she called.

“Rainbow,” Twilight’s voice said. “We’d like to talk to you.”

Rainbow let her friends in and glared suspiciously at them.

“Oh, hey, girls, Spike,” she said. “Do anything exciting today?”

Applejack, without thinking, started praising Mare Do Well. “Nothin’ too much. We just saw Mare Do Well save the dam from floodin’ Ponyville.”

Spike could see that this was egging Rainbow on, but, his efforts to stop it were in vain as Twilight joined in.

“Indeed, she’s very brave and cunning,” she added. “Rushing in to the rescue without a word.”

Spike frantically waved his arms to stop, but, Fluttershy chimed in, too.

“And the way she helps others and then runs away in mystery is pretty neat,” she said.

Before either Rarity or Pinkie had a chance to add to the conversation, Spike jumped to Rarity and covered both their mouths with his claws. “Girls, just stop!” he said. “You’re just egging her on!”

“I get it, though,” Rainbow said. “I see what you’re all trying to do here. So, fess up. Which one of you is really Mare Do Well?”

“None of us are, Rainbow,” Twilight answered. “That’s what we’ve come here to talk to you about.”

Rainbow wasn’t convinced for a second and the face she was making made that clear. “Oh, sure. I let a little praise go to my head and you guys don’t take it well and this big shot comes out of nowhere and starts making me look bad and you all sing her praises in such a gloating way.”

The other guardians were shocked she’d come to such a conclusion. Applejack spoke next.

“Rainbow, we promise ya that none o’ us are Mare Do Well,” she said.

“Look,” Rainbow said. “I admit I may have gloated a little, but, if it bothered you so much, you could’ve, I don’t know, TALKED IT OUT! You don’t have to make this whole superhero identity to make me look bad.”

“If you're so sure that one of them is Mare Do Well,” Spike challenged. “Why don't you go ahead and dress the wounds that they got from their heroic endeavors?”

Rainbow remained stubborn. “I don’t see any wounds, but, Twilight’s probably covering the wounds with some kind of magic. I wouldn’t put it past her. Maybe she’s Mare Do Well and using some kind of magic to change what type of pony she is and even copy Applejack’s strength and Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense.”

By now, the normally timid Fluttershy was beginning to lose her temper. “Rainbow, these accusations are just awful,” she said. “I understand that you’re upset about this situation, but, that’s no reason to blame us for something that wasn’t our fault!”

“And even if I knew a spell like that,” Twilight said. “What makes you think I would use it to upstage anypony? Let alone you?”

Rainbow stubbornly crossed her forehooves. “I’ve seen the way you looked at me during those interviews before Mare Do Well showed up. For the record, no matter how much I might’ve bragged, my first concern is the safety of other ponies.”

Spike could see the situation was escalating and tried to defuse it while being as calm as possible. “This stubbornness of yours really isn't helping your case,” he said. “Take it from some creature who knows. Jealousy is a terrible thing. I let it get the better of me and I snapped at my mom because of it.”

“N’ y’all know ah can’t tell lies without gettin’ sick ta mah stomach,” Applejack said. “The whole time we’ve been talkin’, have ya heard me gag once?”

Rainbow stopped when she heard that sentence and she did take some time to think it over. “No, you haven’t,” she admitted. “But, still, you don’t have to rub Mare Do Well’s success in my face. I know that sounds bucking rich coming from me, but, it felt like you were trying to give me a message about bragging!”

Spike glared at the other mares as if to sarcastically say, “Way to escalate a problem.” That was all they needed to know they made an extremely poor choice in starting the conversation.

“Rainbow, we’re sorry,” Twilight said. “We didn’t mean for this to turn out like this. And believe me, we were about to talk with you about this before, but, the first Mare Do Well rescue prevented us from doing so.”

“Why, if I didn’t know better,” Rainbow said. “I’d say you all set up those disasters Mare Do Well fixed just so you could prove you’re better at being heroes than me.”

Hearing those words finally made Spike snap. “Hey!” he shouted. “That’s going too far!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said. “Even if we were trying to teach you a lesson, we would never put ourselves or others at risk! We don’t care how much you bragged, we wouldn’t go that far to prove a point!”

“Indeed,” Rarity said. “Though, I still can’t get over how much that Mare Do Well’s outfit looks like designs I made before she showed up.” The others present (sans Rainbow) gave her annoyed glares, making Rarity realize what she said. “...That’s… incriminating me more, isn’t it?”

“Ah-ha!” Rainbow snapped. “You are conspiring against me!”

“Rainbow, that's enough!” Spike said. “Don't you remember what you had said after Twilight learned Fluttershy didn't overcome her timidity about assuming? Well, you're assuming pretty hard right now!”

“And what of the Young Flyers competition when you saved me from falling to a frightful height?” Rarity said. “Why in the name of Equestria would I conspire against somepony who saved my life?”

By now, Rainbow was making excuses she knew were flimsy. “Uh, you were probably still zonked out from the Icarus effect?”

Applejack finally lost patience. “Oh, fer buck’s sake, Rainbow!” she said. “D’ya even hear the manure yer spoutin’?! Ya ain’t talkin’ sense! Ya ever think Rarity made the outfits ‘cause she was bored n’ somepony else stole ‘em?!”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said sternly, “But, these accusations aren’t making you very loyal towards your friends.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “So, I suggest you pull your head out of your butt and give your friends the benefit of the doubt before you become even more conspiracy theorist stupid!”

Twilight could see Spike’s anger was starting to reach its breaking point and quickly rubbed his left cheek. “We should go. It’s clear that we all just need to calm down. We’ll just give you your space, Rainbow.”

The others were about to turn away, when Rainbow muttered lowly. “You all think I wanted the attention.”

This remark caused them to turn back towards her. “What was that?” Fluttershy asked, making sure she heard right.

This time, Rainbow spoke clearly. “You all think I WANTED the attention! Well, you’re all wrong! I admit, I appreciated the appreciation, but, it soon got to the point I couldn’t even buy lettuce for Tank without being hounded about the rescue I pulled! Some paparazzi even followed me to the bathroom! Sure, I can thrive on cheering, but, even I have limits!” Rainbow was panting from the rant.

The others listened to her rant and noticed the tears that had formed in Rainbow’s eyes. They felt bad for her situation. Rarity walked gently towards her cyan pegasus friend.

“You must have been keeping that in for a while,” she said. “Do you feel better now that you’ve let it out?”

Rainbow took a deep breath. “A little,” she admitted. “Though, I’m still upset about the times you looked at me as if I was bragging just for the sake of doing so. Even I get tired of telling the same thing over and over again. But, it was all ponies wanted to hear. I figured if I gave them what they wanted, I could go back to my business.”

“So, that’s why mah Mystic Eyes sensed somethin’ dangerously close ta genuine,” Applejack said. “But, there was still a sense o’ uncertainty. Ya really aren’t as hot-headed as we thought.”

At that remark, Rainbow was about to lose her temper, but, she stopped herself, realizing that she’d be proving them right by doing so. Instead, she took a deep breath and spoke calmly. “I admit that I can be a bit hot-headed, but, it’s hard not to be when my closest friends have magical gifts I don’t have. The only thing special about me is that I’m faster than most pegasi and look what good it does me. I’m lazy, reckless, and stupid. Even when I try to be responsible, I screw it up somehow.” She allowed a tear to flow from her eyes, something she rarely did. That was proof enough of her sincerity.

“Oh, Rainbow, we’re so sorry,” Twilight said genuinely. “We really should have made a better effort to talk to you about this sooner. We didn’t mean to come across as hurtful towards you.”

“Sometimes,” Rainbow said, her voice breaking. “It feels everypony’s against me. That’s why I hold onto the friendships I manage to make. Deep down, I feel they’re the only ones I’ll ever have. That’s why I don’t take betrayal well.” By now, Rainbow was starting to cry.******

“Oh, Rainbow,” Rarity said gently. “We would never really betray you. We may still be new friends and we all make mistakes, but, we’re together now to help each other through them.”

The ponies gave Rainbow a group hug.

“It’s because of you that we became friends in the first place,” Pinkie said. “Going that far to teach you a lesson just doesn’t make sense.”

“We’ll forgive you for making these assumptions,” Fluttershy said. “And if you want, you can forgive us for not giving you enough credit. Is that okay?”

“Okay,” Rainbow sniffled. Rainbow gently reciprocated the hug back to her friends. The hug lasted for a good ten minutes before it broke.

When it did, Spike had his thoughtful look again.

“I just realized something before,” Spike said. “Doesn’t it seem like these disasters happen too frequently to be coincidental? And that Mare Do Well happened to be at the right place at the right time and a few steps ahead of Rainbow each time.”

“Hmm,” Applejack said. “Now that ya mention it, it is.”

“Yeah, that is really fishy,” Twilight said. “We need to figure out who Mare Do Well really is and why she’s doing this. But, how?”

Spike snapped his claws. “I think I might have an idea.”

“What is it, Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

“There’s going to be a thank you parade this afternoon honoring Mare Do Well,” Spike explained. “Rainbow, if you join us in the audience, you’ll be able to see that none of our friends are Mare Do Well.”

Rainbow considered this idea for a moment. “Well, okay,” she said, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt.

Later that afternoon, the parade for Mare Do Well began. The Guardians of Harmony were standing close by each other in the audience, with Spike riding on Twilight’s back. Mayor Mare stepped up to the podium on the stage.

“Welcome, everypony,” Mayor Mare announced. “To the first, but, certainly not the last, Mare Do Well gratitude parade! Please, give an appreciative stomp to the one and only Mare Do Well!”

Mare Do Well burst through the banner and stood on the stage. Rainbow looked between her friends and Mare Do Well, seeing all her friends were still with her and she knew neither Twilight nor Rarity knew any cloning spells. Immediately, she regretted jumping to conclusions as she did.

“Girls,” she said humbly. “I’m sorry I thought you were all against me with the Mare Do Well identity.”

“Now that ya know the truth,” Applejack said. “O’ course we can fergive ya.”

“But,” Rainbow said. “If none of you are Mare Do Well, who is?”

As the parade went on, they suddenly heard a faint growling noise. “Sounds like one of us needs something to eat,” Rainbow said. “Spike?”

“That wasn’t my stomach,” Spike said.

“Though, I heard that growling too,” Twilight said. “And I don’t recognize it as a stomach growl.”

They followed the sound and saw a large, spindly creature with a head like a venus flytrap big enough to fit three full-grown ponies in its mouth, a body like a spider’s, and the legs of a crab slinking its way towards Mare Do Well while her back was turned. Mayor Mare saw the creature and gasped.

“What is that?!” she exclaimed.

This caught Mare Do Well’s attention and she turned around in time for the creature to jump at her and wrap her up to her neck in tangled webbing. Mare Do Well screamed in terror. “Help! Somepony help me!”

The onlooking ponies were surprised with Mare Do Well’s display of cowardice. Their brave and mysterious hero was calling for help? That was a real shock to them.

“I know what that creature is,” Twilight said. “It’s a fraudivore. It feeds on those who commit fraudulent acts of heroism for the sole purpose of fame and glory. The only way to repel it is for the one committing said fraud to admit to it.” This explanation had the entire town taken aback.

“SOMEPONY PLEASE HELP!!!” Mare Do Well cried.

“Oh, but, you’re doing a great job here, Mare Do Well~” Rainbow said sarcastically. “Why don’t you use your unicorn magic, your incredible strength, or your wings to get out of that?”

Though her mask hid it, Mare Do Well was humiliated for what she was forced to admit. “I… I can’t because they…” She mumbled under her breath.

“Because what?” Rainbow said. “Speak up!”

Mare Do Well knew there was no turning back now. “Because they were abilities I copied from other ponies with my Mystic Eyes of Mimicry to set up disasters this past week so I could get all the fame and glory, now, PLEASE HELP!!!”

When the ponies heard Mare Do Well’s confession, they gasped in shock.

“So, Aura in the well?” Rainbow asked.

“I pushed her in from behind with magic,” Mare Do Well confessed.

“Cream Puff’s runaway pram?”

“Threw a pebble for her mother to step on so she’d be distracted.”

“The breaking deck?”

“Bribed the architect to take the day off.”

"Berry Punch up a tree?"

"Gave her an extra bottle."

“Cherry Berry and the balloon?”

“Magicked myself on top of it, slit open the top, and magicked myself to the rooftops while everypony was distracted.”

“The runaway tour carriage?”

“Cut the brakes.”

“The construction site?”

“Tampered with the crane.”

“The dam?”

“I used magic to hit it with a sledgehammer.”

After Mare Do Well fessed up to all of the disasters she set up, the fraudivore released her and slunk away to its dwelling deep within the Everfree Forest. Mare Do Well, still bound in the webbing, was surrounded by the Guardians of Harmony. “Let’s see who she really is,” Spike said before removing Mare Do Well’s mask, revealing what looked like Applejack’s face, but, with bluish-white irises.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked.

The mare shut her eyes and her body began to contort as she morphed into a black unicorn mare with a blood red mane.

“My name,” the mare said. “Is Dark Mimic. I was born with the Mystic Eyes of Mimicry, which allow me to copy abilities I see in action and even the forms of other ponies I’ve seen.” She used her eyes to scan Rainbow and took on her appearance while retaining her natural eye color. “It doesn’t seem useful in my current bound state, but, I copied Rainbow’s incredible flight ability.”

“Where, shall I ask,” Rarity said. “Did you acquire your outfit?”

“I took them from your shop while you were out,” Mimic confessed. “I would have copied your outfit making abilities, but, making an outfit would take too much time and I was going for subtlety.”

“Well,” Twilight said. “That solves a lot of mysteries, but, there’s still one. Since you legitimately had such magical abilities, why couldn’t you use them to become a legitimate hero?”

“Because there aren’t any legitimate heroes,” Mimic said. “Ponies all say they don’t care about fame and glory, but, they never protest to parades being thrown in their honor. You Guardians of Harmony are no different. When Discord was freed, an anvil fell on my mother’s head, killing her. And when Discord was petrified again, you all left town. But, I knew I couldn’t defeat all of you directly. More powerful creatures than myself have tried. But, if I could drive a wedge between you by egging on the brash pegasus…”*******

“You almost won,” Rarity said. “But, there is one thing you haven’t counted on.”

“No matter how much we get on each other’s nerves,” Twilight said.

“No matter how much I pretend to brag,” Rainbow said.

“No matter how we interpret er misinterpret a situation,” Applejack said.

“No matter how many disasters happen,” Pinkie added.

“You never counted on the fact that we can count on each other to solve our problems when we see one of us is feeling stressed,” Fluttershy said.

“A real hero doesn’t set up disasters, but, is always prepared for them,” Spike said.

“You can’t deny that Rainbow Dash is reckless,” Dark Mimic said.

“You may be right,” Rainbow said. “But, even I wouldn’t do something like set up disasters. That would not only put myself at risk, but, others as well. That’s why I’m the one most willing to take risks. So nopony else has to.”

Dark Mimic took in Rainbow’s words. She suddenly felt very guilty.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your mom,” Rainbow said. “But, there are things even I can’t do. No amount of fame or glory will bring your mom back. Besides, the way you’ve been using your powers, do you think she’d want to be brought back, knowing that her daughter became a self-serving fraud?”

Dark Mimic’s heart figuratively sunk lower into her stomach. “No… no, she would not…”

“Exactly,” Rainbow said. “Sure, I may have told the story about how I saved Aura a lot, but, that’s only because ponies wouldn’t let me go about my day otherwise. I couldn’t even buy food for my pet without getting hounded by my fans.”

The fan ponies heard about this and they began to feel ashamed. Scootaloo walked up to Rainbow.

“We were only trying to show how much we appreciated you,” Scootaloo said. “We didn’t know we were driving you that crazy.”

Rainbow addressed the filly as calmly and humbly as she could. “I appreciate the appreciation, but, supporting somepony you admire is one thing. Putting them on a pedestal above you is another. I can’t feel good about myself knowing others are putting themselves down to build me up.”

“I guess you have a point,” Scootaloo said. “I guess that means I have to shut down the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, huh?”

“You don’t have to do anything that extreme,” Rainbow said. “Just try to be reasonable about the support you give.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said. “I’ll try and take it easy from now on.”

“That’s all I ask,” Rainbow said gratefully.

Rainbow’s friends were amazed by what they were seeing, Rainbow being openly humble in front of the whole town. The normally brash pegasus, despite the stress of the week, was handling it all with greater grace and humility than they thought she was capable of.

“Looks like Rainbow proved us wrong yet again,” Twilight said. “She really is capable of being humble.”

“N’ it’s genuine,” Applejack smiled, gazing with her Mystic Eyes. “Looks like we’re the ones learnin’ somethin’  here.”

“Sounds like that’s my cue,” Spike said as he pulled a paper and quill from his loose scales.

“I’ll take a piece of that action,” Rainbow said.

“Okay,” Spike said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The mares all cleared their throats.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Rainbow began. “Today, we’ve learned that even if it seems like your friends are against you…”

“Ya might find out that ya had the wrong idea all along,” Applejack added.

“This past week,” Rarity said. “Rainbow seemed to be acting more egotistical than usual.”

“But,” Fluttershy said. “It turned out that her act of boastfulness was just that. An act.”

“We also learned,” Pinkie said. “That if your friend is acting out of line, you should talk to them about it right away before she ends up being humiliated by somepony actually trying to make her look bad.”

“If you don’t,” Twilight said. “Your friend could feel hurt and betrayed to the point of making up conspiracy theories that aren’t true.”

“And you shouldn’t assume your friends are trying to make a point unless you can prove it,” Rainbow said. “We also learned that if you feel you’re being praised too much, you should let those praising you know and not bottle it up until it explodes out. That’ll make you say or do things you regret later.”

“Signed, your humble subjects,
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash,” concluded Twilight.

“P.S.,” Spike added. “We have a pony in Ponyville clearly in need of mental help.”

Dark Mimic heard that remark and she knew Spike was referring to her. “You’re right, young dragon,” she said. “I’ve disgraced my mother’s memory. I’m going to correct that by getting the mental help I clearly need. So, I’m checking into the mental help wing at Ponyville Hospital.”

After Dark Mimic was taken away, Spike rolled up the scroll and sent it away.

“Thanks, Spike,” Rainbow said. “Thanks, all of you. You guys are real friends.”

“You know,” Pinkie said. “Some of the lessons we learned today felt a bit familiar.”

“We all need reminders now and then,” Twilight said.

“Speaking of needing,” Fluttershy said. “Rainbow, we haven’t had a proper birthday celebration with you considering all of the disasters that happened. Want to go make amends with that?”

“On one condition,” Rainbow said. “We keep it simple. I just want a simple birthday party in the company of my friends.”

“I think after all of the excitement and stress we went through,” Twilight said. “I think we all could use a simple celebration.”

“Hey!” Pinkie said. “Spike’s birthday is coming up next!”

“I think we should be able to handle a more exciting party after Dash’s,” Spike said.

“We promise we’ll make it up to you for missing it last year,” Fluttershy said.

“Sounds great,” Spike said.

As Dark Mimic was escorted to the mental help wing, she heard the sound of a dog barking.

“I didn’t think they would put dogs in pony hospitals,” Dark Mimic pondered.

“We don’t,” said Nurse Redheart, who was escorting her. “That would be Screwy.”

“Screwy?” Dark Mimic asked.

“She was something of a clumsy architect,” Nurse Redheart explained. “After Discord was freed, she began acting like a dog. She can’t even talk anymore.”

“That’s terrible,” Dark Mimic said.

“We’ve been trying to get her back to normal ever since,” Nurse Redheart said as they walked past the stallion frozen in ice Spike and Rarity found.******** By that point, some of the ice melted. Dark Mimic was curious.

“What about that pony there?” she asked.

“He was found in permafrost shortly after the first day of spring last year,” Nurse Redheart said. “We’ve been thawing him ever since.”

“My goodness,” Dark Mimic said.

“Remarkably,” Nurse Redheart said. “He’s still alive in that ice.”

“Fascinating,” Dark Mimic gasped. “How long was he frozen?”

“We don’t know,” Nurse Redheart said. “We’re hoping he can tell us once fully thawed.”

Soon, Dark Mimic was escorted to her room.

“Looks like I’m going to be here for a while,” Dark Mimic said.

“Yep,” Nurse Redheart said. “Therapy starts in the morning. See you then.”

End of chapter.