“Why am I cursed with all of this knowledge? Why am I burdened with these memories? Why was I the only one? The only one who survived? None of the others knew; they didn’t know anything. They wallowed in ignorance!”
In the middle of the night, in the dead silence of Luna’s reign, a pony lurked about.
“And their ignorance was rewarded with their demise. Was there not another way? I won’t deny the complexity that we presented, but murder is still murder.”
She knew wanted. She knew what she needed. And she knew exactly how she was going to go about getting it all. Granted, she hadn’t ironed out all of the details, but she had suddenly found herself with an eternity of time on her hooves to do just that.
“Coincidence or fated, it matters not. I am alive with this knowledge, and I will do everything in my power to put right what you have done wrong. Phase One begins now!”
Rarity’s Boutique, her target, her first step, the beginning of the end for that wretched, monstrous, abomination of a unicorn that she had come to know as Twilight Sparkle.
“I cannot wait to see the look on your face when it all comes together like a newly completed jigsaw puzzle. That look alone will make all of this worthwhile.”
She approached the boutique and began picking the lock on the window of the first floor.
“I’ll have my vengence. You WILL realize the consequences of your decisions, Twilight Sparkle.”
The lock gave a satisfying click that informed her that she had successfully gained entry to the installation of her target.
“Because I know you, Twilight Sparkle. I know what makes you tick. I know your capabilities. I know your weaknesses. I know your idiosyncrasies. I know everything there is to know about you.”
She sneaked in through the window and quickly surveyed her surroundings. Spotting the stairs, she silently began to climb them.
“After all, I’m your friend, Twilight Sparkle.”
Greeted by the sounds of Rarity and Opal’s light snoring, the mysterious pony entered the unicorn’s bedroom.
“And friends don’t kill ponies.”
She crawled up to the chest that lay at the foot of Rarity’s bed. Soundlessly opening it, she began to search through its contents.
“Not here.”
She closed the lid and moved to the closet.
“Grrrrr.”
She immediately spun around to see a full conscious and alert Opal jump down from the bed and approach her.
Smirking, the pony held out her hoof for the cat to sniff. “You stupid cat,” she murmured.
Said feline quickly sniffed the pony’s hoof, purred, licked it, and slowly strolled away from the intruder and out of the room through the door.
Breathing a small sigh of relief, the pony turned her attention back towards the closet and began to search for the desired treasure.
Her eyes lit up, and her teeth revealed themselves in a grin. “There you are.”
She removed from the wardrobe the infamous Mare Do Well costume, practically brand new since the little escapade of the costume hero’s first and only appearance.
“You will do very nicely.”
She removed the costume and hat from the closet. Looking back at the sleeping unicorn, the pony decided that now would be an ideal opportunity to begin the cascading sequences that would lead to the downfall of Twilight Sparkle and thus quickly donned the costume of Mare Do Well.
"While I may not be portraying the character accurately," she thought to herself, "I lack the essentials to make my own masked costume to use. A readymade suit is a readymade suit, and beggars can't be choosers."
She walked over to the bedroom window and opened it, gauging the distance to the ground for the required jump that she would soon be required to make. With her escape route ready, she sneaked over to the bed and carefully removed the sleeping mask that was wrapped around Rarity’s head. She placed one foreleg on the sleeping mare’s throat and began roughly tapped her head.
Rarity began to respond to the interruptance in her sleep. “Mmmh, mrgh. Mrrr?”
The pony sighed in annoyance and smacked her.
Jolted awake, Rarity's eyes shot open to see the mask of Mare Do Well staring down into her.
Before Rarity could scream, the pony used her first foreleg to clamp down on her throat, reducing the mare’s would-be screams to mere gags and gasps for air.
The pony murmured in a low, even monotone that dripped with venom, “Twilight Sparkle will suffer.”
Her words spoken, she released her grip on the unicorn and made a dash for the window. She leaped out of it and into the night, leaving Rarity in a mixture of terror, surprise, and confusion.
"'Suffer' might have been an understatement," she thought to herself as she galloped away.
The pony continued to gallop through Ponyville and towards the Everfree Forest. Despite the lethality of said forest, she charged straight in. When Ponyville was just out of sight, she quickly came across a small clearing in the wooded area, stocked with a small amount of supplies and a hollowed tree for shelter.
"'Bring to justice' might be a more precise term."
Catching her breath, she took off the hat and mask of her newly acquired costume.
“You will serve your purpose well,” she said aloud with a smooth and confident aire. “That is, of course, until the Seventh Phase begins.” She approached her hollowed tree and withdrew from it a pack of black tie dye. “But, until that specific point in time is upon me, you will do more than suffice.” She began preparing the collected materials. “Now, let’s get you better suited to my needs. Phase One may be complete, but Phase Two must begin immediately, if I am to retain the element of surprise.”
The following morning, the Mane Six and Spike had gathered in the library. Needless to say, all seven of them were not in the best of moods.
Applejack paced around the main room. “It just don’t add up! Who’d wanna hurt Twilight? And why would they want the Mare Do Well costume?” She came to an abrupt halt and looked at Twilight. “And why would they bother hurtin’ Rarity if they wanted you?”
Rainbow Dash said, “I say we line everypony up in ponyville and find out!”
Fluttershy attempted to reason, “But, everypony’s a nice pony. No pony would want to hurt Rarity or Twilight.”
Pinkie Pie agreed, “And I know everypony in Ponyville! And I know that everypony in Ponyville’s a good pony in Ponyville!”
Twilight interrupted, “Girls! Please! We can figure this out.” She looked to Rarity who had taken up residence on the couch. “She didn’t hurt you, right?”
With most of her composure regained since the intrusion last night, Rarity said, “No. No, she didn’t. All she said was that you would suffer, Twilight.”
Twilight grimaced. “I have no idea who would want me to suffer. Trixie and I already made up.”
Spike asked, “Should we send a letter to the princess?”
Twilight thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Princess Celestia has a kingdom to run, and we don’t need to bother her when I’m the one this pony’s after.”
“Twilight,” Rarity interjected, “This pony obviously doesn’t mind messing with us to get to you.”
“Rarity’s got a point,” Rainbow Dash agreed, “What if she goes after us next?”
“If somepony tries to strangle me,” Applejack stated, “They’ll be explaining themselves in a body cast.”
Pinkie Pie optimistically stated, “Well, at least we know we’re looking for somepony in the Mare Do Well costume!”
Twilight asked Rarity, “Did she take anything besides the costume?”
Rarity answered, “No. No, I don’t think so.” Her expression turned to perplexion. “But, now that I think of it, Opal didn’t wake me.”
Everypony turned to her.
Rainbow Dash asked, “What'd ya mean?”
“I would think,” she explained, “That Opal would have put up some sort of fight if she knew that somepony was in my room. But she didn’t.”
Levitating a quill and a piece of paper, Twilight stated, “We should be writing these things down.”
Applejack looked at the clock. “Say, Rar, you plannin’ on takin’ the day off? ‘Cause you’d normally have your doors open by now.”
“Oh,” she looked at the clock, “Oh my! You’re absolutely right!” She got up from the couch and made her way to the door. “I should be going! Let me know if anything comes up!”
Twilight was about to protest, but Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder, signaling for her to let Rarity go.
Closing the door behind her, Rarity bid her friends goodbye. “Ta ta, girls!”
As the door slammed shut, Twilight looked at Applejack.
Answering the unspoken question, the farmer answered, “I reckon it’ll do her good to take her mind off what’s happened. And I don't think this mystery pony would attack the same pony twice if she's after you.”
“Speaking of what happened,” Rainbow Dash suggested, “I think I should stay here. Y’know, to protect you, just in case this pony decides to make her move on you.”
Applejack said, “I agree with Rainbow. Just aint safe, leavin’ you alone.”
Twilight said, “I don’t think that you need to worry too much about me, Applejack.” She began to pace around the room. “Whoever this pony is, she hates me with a passion. But I can’t, for the life of me, think of anypony who I might have hurt that badly.”
“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, “How do you know she’s a she?”
The unicorn responded, “Rarity was positive that the voice she heard was female.”
Rainbow Dash complained, “Well, that doesn’t really help us. There must be at least nine mares for every stallion in Ponyville!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Twilight pondered.
Rainbow Dash stood puzzled. “I don’t follow.”
Twilight explained, “Opal didn’t alert Rarity.”
The athlete still didn’t understand. “So?”
Applejack caught on. “Opal didn’t warn Rarity, because Opal knew the pony!”
Rainbow Dash grimaced. “That can’t be true.”
Applejack asked, “What makes you say that?”
“Rarity doesn’t exactly let Opal roam. How many ponies does that cat know well enough besides us?”
Silence filled the room.
Pinkie Pie firmly said, “No pony here would want to hurt Twilight!”
Twilight reassured her. “And that’s what bothers me, Pinkie. I know none of you would wish me ill harm, but like Rainbow said, there aren’t many other options.” She grimaced. "Rarity told me that she thought she heard the pony's voice before, but wouldn't that make the culprit a customer?"
Everypony remained silent.
Applejack stated, “We’ll figure this out, but I’ve got to be gettin’ back to the farm.”
Twilight nodded. “I understand.” She looked to the other three ponies. “I didn’t mean to keep you all for so long.”
Rainbow Dash stretched her wings. “No big, Twi. We’re your friends, and friends look out for each other.”
After Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight had said their goodbyes to the remaining three friends, the unicorn returned to the main room and began to think.
“Oh, right,” Rainbow Dash groaned, “I forgot; you have to do that.”
Author's notes! Well, I don't know exactly who's going to read this, but if you're here from my Aliens/MLP crossover, "The Creatures that Came to Ponyville," don't worry. I haven't stopped that. This is just a side project.
Now, if you read carefully, you should have a good idea as to how many chapters this is going to be. If not, well, what're you waiting for? Get reading! Again!
Speaking of reading, thanks for doing just that. Stick around if you're interested in seeing where this vendetta goes.