Dear Princess Celestia,
I thought the more I embraced this new part of my life as Mare Do Well, it’d get easier on me, but I’ve found in some ways, it’s only gotten harder. I can only wonder how much my other friends will understand if they knew the truth, this secret I’ve not only been keeping, but make Twilight keep as well. Is that loyalty? Loyalty to who? To me? To them for their own good? To the ponies I do my best to help whenever I put this costume on?
I also wonder what I’ll end up losing, and who, along this path I’m on now. I’m scared if I tell my friends, they’ll no longer trust me, or worse, an enemy I make can use them against me, especially if they make the connection to who’s under the mask. I’d never live with myself if any of them lost their lives because of that…
I can barely sleep without thinking about that anymore.
Your faithful subject,
Rainbow Dash
~
Mare Do Well pursued the robbers as fast as she could, somehow despite her superior flying she couldn’t keep up with them as they seemed to just vanish into the Everfree forest. Noises were all around her but she paid them no heed, she had to catch these ponies no matter what and show them robbing Ponyville bank was a huge mistake.
She found herself at a clearing, the violent storms that often were found around the forest swirled about above the costumed pegasus. Landing on the ground, she noticed she was surrounded headstones, and they had names upon them.
Applejack.
“What…” Mare Do Well muttered in shock, backing into another one.
Rarity.
“This… this isn’t possible!” She stammered, before noticing another.
Pinkie Pie.
And another…
Fluttershy.
Spike.
Spitfire.
Scootaloo.
Twilight Sparkle.
The headstones all seemed closer now, surrounding her like a vengeful mob.
“No… no… no… you can’t all be gone…” The costumed pegasus pleaded, throwing her hat and mask off, revealing Rainbow Dash’s heartbroken expression as she hugged the one marked with Scootaloo’s name. Then lightning flashed, and she saw them…
Shockwave. Decepto. Gametime.
“YOU DID THIS!” Rainbow shouted furiously, charging at them, only to go right through the phantoms of her recent adversaries.
“Did we?” Another voice asked, this one a familiar, husky female one. Rainbow turned around, and there stood Gilda, wearing her Razorbeak costume minus the mask.
“Gilda…” Rainbow said, a mix of hurt and anger in her voice, the griffon just sneered at her.
“Come on, Dash, we both know this is your fault.” Furiously Rainbow swung her hoof at the griffoness, who easily caught it with her claw and leaned in her face as she pinned her down on the ground, the rain starting to fall around them as the other three villains stood watching, along with several others like King Slinger, some thugs and robbers, Razorbeak’s former lackey Leo, and changelings. “This is what loyalty and being a hero gets you, Dash. Enemies and dead friends!” She asked, inches from the pegasus’ face. “The lame ponies you chose over me…” She said, raising her claw up to strike her.
“…Leave me alone…” Rainbow sobbed as the words got to her, breaking through every cocky or tough defense barrier she’d erected around that deeply-rooted, fragile part of her mind she’d spent her life building a reputation to repress.
“Oh no, Dash. So long as you wonder how you could have done things differently with me, I’ll always be here to remind you of those lame choices you made…” The griffoness threatened. “How’s THAT for loyalty?” She said with a cruel laugh, and as she prepared to bring her armored talons down on the pegasus, Rainbow noticed a vaguely familiar silhouette suddenly appear behind the griffoness, with a flowing blue mane resembling the night sky, and the mystery mare’s eyes flashed white.
Rainbow sat up, screaming and startling Tank from his bed. Taking a few deep breaths, the pegasus attempted to stop hyperventilating and her eyes felt moist. Had she cried in her sleep? Falling backwards, the cyan mare stared at the ceiling. “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I sleep good as much as I used to? Luna, please help me…” she muttered, glancing out the window at the moon. Whether it was an identity crisis she felt on the verge of overcoming or the fear of putting those she cared for in danger, Rainbow Dash had found her moments of sleep to be frequently be less peaceful then they used to be. She’d wondered once if quitting this whole hero thing would end it, but immediately realized it’d only make her feel worse. Whether she wanted it or not, she and Mare Do Well were truly one and the same now. Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt a nudge, and saw Tank floating beside her, a worried look on his face.
“Oh, Tank…” The pegasus put her forelegs around him and hugged the tortoise. “It all seemed so cool, then, didn’t it?” She asked him. “Me being a superhero, helping ponies and not letting the fame get to me. Then the stuff with Gilda… and now more crazies in costumes popping up to cause trouble, and somepony I know almost nothing about who wants Mare Do Well’s head on a plate. But ponies need Mare Do Well, I’m never gonna quit.” She sighed. For once, she felt far less like her normally proud and cocky self. “But… I don’t know what to do.” She didn’t even know if she could tell Twilight, she didn’t want to worry her friend.
~
“Dr. Nimbus, our progress with the windigo essence that has been contained is remarkable!” A mint-colored pegasus mare with a snowflake cutie mark in a labcoat said proudly, brushing back her sharply-cut, chin-length blue mane with her hoof and revealing a light blush on her face.
“Very true, Snow Angel. Your research has been yielding some amazing results, perhaps we’ll be able to incorporate it into our Hearth’s Warming blizzards that signify the winter more easily.” The beige pegasus stallion in a similar labcoat next to her said with a smirk. “I’m very proud of you. Ever since you transferred over, I think we’ve come closer to revolutionizing winter weather management.”
“Thank you, sir.” Snow Angel said with a shy smile. Manehattan Academy was doing a lot for her, a young weather scientist. The project she’d been working on had filled her with so much excitement, and she couldn’t wait to finally finish it and show it to the world. She always did love the winter, anyway. Snow was beautiful to look at and fun to play in, it always gave her mixed feelings come Winter Roundup as a result, though spending time with her little sister in Ponyville when it happened made things a little easier.
“Well, I’m going to go relay the news to the rest of the team. You wrap things up here and I’m sure we’re close to a presentation!” Dr. Nimbus said, giving the mare a nudge and leaving.
“Of course!” Snow Angel answered, adjusting her glasses and turning her attention to the swirling white, frosty mist within the large glass tube. Every so often she could see it change form, take shape into snow or ice, and break into mist again, moving in a spinning fashion much like the legendary ice entities in the tale of Equestria’s founding. How odd it was to find it… beautiful. Instinctively, she pressed her hoof against the glass, and the frosty wind seemed to move towards it for a second, bursting in white snow, startling the mare enough to make her stumble backwards into the control panel she was attending to in order to regulate the sample. Looking back, she realized what she’d bumped into, and she heard a hissing sound, the glass beginning to crack. Panicking, she spread her wings to fly for the door, but as she moved, the tube burst and the frigid cold filled the room, chilling her despite being a pegasus. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, her blue eyes looking over at the controls as things began to freeze over, and the magic gem that had powered it suddenly burst, emitting a wave of magic over her as the ice began to close around her like a frigid cocoon.
She didn’t know how long she was there, but she was awoken by pounding sounds, and oddly, she didn’t feel cold anymore.
“Snow! You awake? Hold on!” Dr. Nimbus shouted, a team of ponies in warm coats working to break away the ice. As she struggled to move, Snow Angel felt the ice suddenly burst off of her, standing herself up and breathing rapidly, she then saw the doctor staring at her in horror.
“Snow Angel… what… happened to you?” He stammered.
“What do you… mean?” She asked frantically, seeing fog come from her breath and realizing how she didn’t feel cold at all, despite the others shivering. She approached, and saw ice build up around her, creeping towards the other ponies till it held them in place.
“The experiment… it did something to you.” The doctor said.
“WHAT HAPPENED?!” She cried out, more frantic and suddenly a gust of icy wind swirled around her, encasing the other ponies save the doctor completely in ice. Realizing what she did, and seeing the doctor’s face, she looked around desperately for a reflective surface, and galloped over to the glass tube, hearing the crackling sound of ice forming around where she’d ran, and it slowly formed around the tube, till it became almost like a mirror.
“Celestia WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!” Snow Angel cried out when she saw her reflection. Her coat was now completely white instead of its original mint color, and her mane and tail were now a light blue with only faint streaks of its former color. The irises of her eyes were noticeably brighter, to the point they were almost glowing. Jagged, light blue marks were around her legs, and she noticed they seemed to shine like ice. And her wings… the limb itself seemed to have become coated in a sharp crystalline armor resembling ice as well, her white feathers glistened as though they were lightly dusted with snow. “This can’t be real, this can’t be real…” She cried out, collapsing to her haunches and she let out a scream, bringing another ferocious gust of frigid sub-zero wind erupting from her, engulfing the terrified doctor and rendering him frozen in his horrified expression.
“Oh no… Dr. Nimbus!” the white pegasus ran over, throwing her forelegs around his frozen form and embracing it. “I’m so sorry!” Her eyes widened as she felt her mentor crumble apart. The alarms were already going off now. “Have to get out of here… have to get out of here…” She spread her wings and instinctively flew as fast as she could, leaving a trail of snow and ice in her path as she broke through the first window she could find and escaped into the night.
~
“Well, Twi, I gotta say, that one takes the cake on weird.” Rainbow said the following day, eyeing the Manehattan Times that Twilight floated before her. “Freak accidents with weather study?”
“Do you know any of them?” Twilight asked.
“I’ve heard about Dr. Nimbus, he’s a pretty respected weather researcher. My dad knew him mostly, though. So it says they were studying traces from a windigo’s magic residue. So you think it somehow got stronger and broke out?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, that seems logical, but it doesn’t explain where the new scientist there, Snow Angel, disappeared to. There’s reports the windigo escaped and was heading south.” Twilight explained.
“Isn’t that, like, towards Ponyville?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Possibly, yes. Baltimare didn’t get any random snowstorms, and it being the last day of spring, well, I think they’d notice if an odd one came in.” Twilight replied. “But Ponyville has a good sense of harmony in it and doesn’t really have any major conflicts among its townsponies, a wendigo isn’t going to get a lot of negative energy here.”
“Well if it does come by, we’ll have to find some way to deal with it what with Celestia being away on that visit to the Griffon Empire.” Rainbow answered.
“They can’t be fought directly, Rainbow. They feed on aggression. Remember the play we were in?” Twilight said.
“Right… I guess after what I’ve had to deal with lately I can’t complain about a boring way to handle something coming through.” Rainbow replied. “We should probably let the Mayor know, though and get the town ready.”
~
“So hot… so hot…” Snow Angel said, cowering in a cave she’d had to camp in when the sun rose up. Luna had been pulling a double shift due to Celestia’s absence for a few days and unfortunately the days were anything but overcast. The heat was too much, she couldn’t stand it, there had to be something she could do. After a moment, the pegasus looked around at her surroundings and closed her eyes, focusing and another mighty gust of icy air filled the cave, covering its insides in snow and ice. Scraping her hoof bitterly on the icy floor, Snow Angel stared off at the entrance. “Is this what I have to deal with now? For the rest of my life?” She asked herself. Even the Princesses only had but so much knowledge on wendigos or the magical power associated with them as they were before their time and now only surfaced in small ways and in certain places. The academy had been lucky to acquire the sample it did. “Lucky… for them.” She muttered. Look what it did to her. She looked at one of the walls, and ice crept around it, smoothing out and forming a mirror like before and got up to approach it. She looked so different, nothing like the shy but dedicated scientist she’d been. She symbolized the winter in every way a pony could with her new appearance. The beautiful winter she had loved so much.
A small smile crept onto her face. The more she looked at what she’d become, the more she found herself liking it. Brushing back her short mane, Snow Angel grinned as doing so released a small icy mist. Surrounded by cold, she felt stronger now; not like she’d been when she was caught in the hot sun. “Who needs the science. I’m walking proof that I’m a genius!” She said, focusing on the mirror and jagged spires formed around it and she turned to approach the entrance, only to recoil from the spring heat. “Why should I let this keep me trapped here when I can bring the winter wherever I wish?” She mused, knowing where she wanted to go. The gusts around her grew stronger as she emerged from the cave, eyeing the few clouds present, and they slowly began to grow larger and thicker.
~
“Alright, I trust everypony is ready for this. Find shelter right away, the weather team meanwhile will be active to clean up as best they can. It’s important, however, that no fear or conflict happens, we have to keep things as orderly as possible.” Twilight explained. “If we are in fact dealing with a windigo, then the blizzard will only get worse if there’s panic.” The other ponies did still seem rather uneasy, but complied all the same. With Celestia away, they were mostly on their own. She had gotten Spike to send word to Luna, but given her own history she was still coping with and already having her hooves full with handling her sister’s responsibilities until she got back, Twilight was unsure if the younger Princess would be of any use against a creature that fed off negative emotions.
“Well, I’m ready to handle this blizzard whenever it gets here.” Rainbow said, jabbing her hoof at the air.”
“Just please have the team find shelter if things get ugly.” Twilight answered. “Applejack’s already got Applebloom and her friends at the cellar on the farm, Fluttershy’s getting the animals to their emergency habitats, Pinkie Pie’s helping the Cakes close down for the day, and Rarity will be with her family.”
“Okay, just have Tank at your place till I come over.” Rainbow said, her tortoise floating over beside her and giving her a concerned look. “Take it easy little buddy. I promise I’ll come back no matter what.” She said patting him on the head.
“Well, everypony here heard her, we should all get ready now.” The Mayor said, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the temporatures drastically dropped. Everypony looked over to the northeast and could see massive, swirling thick clouds rapidly approaching. “Oh my…” She said in disbelief, all attention now on the storm. Gusts of icy winds blew about, snow falling at a quick pace and blanketing the trees and buildings.
“Alright, team, let’s go—“ Rainbow started, spreading her wings and the other pegasi present did the same, when they paused on their tracks when they saw a figure standing atop the clouds. It didn’t look like a wendigo at all, and as the clouds drew closer Rainbow could see the figure was completely white and had a shredded labcoat, with a distinctly pegasus appearance. “What the…” She mouthed as the white pegasus let out a laugh and jumped off the cloud, flying down to the stage, waves of snow trailing behind her as she touched down, the floor around her becoming coated in frost.
“Hello, ponies. I’ve come to inform you winter’s coming early this year to Ponyville.” The white mare said, her eyes briefly flashing blue as the ice around her began to spread, causing Twilight, the Mayor, and Rainbow Dash to back away.
“What do you want?” The mayor asked, causing the icy pegasus to turn towards her.
“What do I want? I want to make this town appreciate the nature of the winter. I’ve never been a true fan of wrap-up, even with family, it meant goodbye to the most beautiful season of the year.” She answered. “I’ve studied ways to make better winters, I used to be happy with its role, and accepted how long it lasted so I could look forward to it again the next year, but I’ve gone through a few changes… in more ways then one!” She said, a crazed smile spread on her face as a gust of icy wind blew at the mayor, Rainbow Dash flew over and moved her out of the way, her teeth chattering.
WOW that was cold! she thought to herself, even her natural resilience did her little good.
“The project in Manehattan?” Twilight asked.
“Bingo.” The white pegasus answered. “You can call me Frostmare.”
“Well, Frostmare, I’m not about to let you turn Ponyville into a popsicle!” Rainbow snapped, getting into a fighting stance but the instant she did, Frostmare did the same, and swirling blue cryogenic waves spun around her then flew straight at Rainbow Dash, encasing her completely in ice. Tank flew atop her, worried for his owner while the other ponies began panicking and fled.
“Run all you want, soon you’ll come to appreciate this growing winter wonderland.” Frostmare said to the crowds as she let out a loud, triumphant laugh, As she did, the gusts of frigid air began to grow again, and Twilight, rushing over to her frozen friend and tortoise, her horn began to glow, and all three vanished.
~
“That should do it.” Twilight said, her horn finally fading and Spike looking ready to pass out.
“Twi, for all the fire I just used, you so owe me for this.” The young dragon answered, coughing and only smoke came out. “You alright, Rainbow?”
“Alright enough to make sure this Frostmare is going down!” Rainbow said angrily, then let out a loud sneeze. “Awwww Tartarus…” She muttered, sniffing. “Where did she even come from? She’s a pegasus but nopony has powers like that, not even the princesses.”
“She’s no windigo either.” Twilight said. “Wait… Spike get me the Manehattan Times from today.” She ordered, the young dragon immediately sprinted over to a desk upstairs and grabbed it, running back with it.
“Just as I thought. I read the reports earlier, the one pony that was not accounted for when the authorities got there, that weather researcher named Snow Angel.” She turned it to face Rainbow, showing the picture.
“Lose the goofy glasses and change the colors, that does look like Frostmare.” Rainbow remarked. “Wait, I think I’ve remember her back in High School. Seemed like a bit of an egghead so I never really got to know her, but I remember she was pretty big with weather study, always loved the winter like she said there...” The pegasus explained as the few memories she had of Snow Angel came to her. “I think I’ve seen her around town every now and then but never sticks around, just kinda shows up for a day or so and I never really thought about it, I mean we may have gone to the same school but we didn't really know one-another. But that doesn’t answer how she got these crazy powers or looks like that now.”
“The experiment going on in Manehattan involved studying windigo essence. They reported an explosion, she may have gotten caught in it.” Twilight replied. “Instead of dying she somehow combined with it. Pegasi manipulate weather, windigos create cold weather, it turned her into something completely new!”
“Well you can nerd out about it later because whatever happened to her’s also made her completely crazy!” Rainbow answered. “The weather team’s still out there and we gotta get them clearing up that blizzard.”
“Right… Spike, can you send letters to the weather team? I have a list upstairs.” Twilight asked.
“Will do!” Spike said, grabbing a quill to write with and a gem to munch on and disappearing upstairs again.
“Alright, Twi, let me have the costume back. I hope you got it fixed after that fight with See-Saw two days ago.” Rainbow said. Twilight had just about fainted when she saw what it had suffered at the hooves of a costumed unicorn who liked buzzsaw blades a little too much.
“Rainbow, you’re not equipped to handle somepony with power like hers and you’ve got a cold now.” Twilight said, floating out the Mare Do Well costume that had taken her a night to fix with a mending spell. “Let me use the costume I’ll go in your place and try to stop her.”
“I was FROZEN today! I’m not letting her get away with that.” Rainbow answered angrily. “Besides, I promised myself I’d be Mare Do Well and protect ponies as her, no matter wha--… a…a…ACHOO!” Rainbow growled in annoyance as a sneeze ruined her moment but quickly swiped the costume and started putting it on. “Look, Twi, you’re not a pegasus, you’ll barely last against weather that cold, even with the costume on. Let alone be able to do much in that kind of weather.” She explained, straightening the cape out as she fastened it on.
“Is that so?” Rarity’s voice said from behind the cyan pegasus, causing her and Twilight to turn and see that Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all there.
“Rarity?” Spike called out, running downstairs, as if the conversation from before had meant little to him and the sound of his crush’s voice was all it took to bring him down to see her.
Twilight looked a little sheepish, and soon, so did Rainbow Dash.
“Guess I have a lot to explain, huh?” The pegasus asked.
~
Flying around a tree a few times, Frostmare coated it in ice, and stood back to admire the light glistening off it, then glided about town, ice forming around her hooves and giving her the ability to skate about on the frozen ground. Stopping at the lake, her eyes flashed blue and cold winds blew around it, freezing it over. Icicle spires grew from the ground around it, and snow gently fell again. “Perfect.” She said, taking to the air and flying off to her destination.
Before long, she came to a small cottage, and called in. “Misty Cloud?”
The window opened, and a young, light blue pegasus filly poked her head out. “Who…? Snow?” She asked, barely recognizing her.
“Yeah, it’s me, sis. Came to visit.”
“What happened to you?” Misty asked, looking her older sister over.
“A lot.” She said, landing in the room, the floor around where she stood frosting over. She noticed the discomfort her younger sister seemed to have. “I was working on a project in Manehattan, I planned to see you once we were done. Something happened, there was an explosion and I blacked out… when I woke up, I looked like this.” She said, gesturing to herself, and cold air briefly swirled around her. “We’ve always loved winter, Misty, and now I can give us winter whenever we want, why wait three long boring seasons to finally get it? Come on out and see what I did!” She said, gesturing to the window next. The filly walked over and flew just outside the window, the icy pegasus following her and then leading her to the frozen lake. Misty saw frozen-over lands spanning as far as she could see, places were covered in snow and ice, few animals were out, no ponies anywhere.
“Did… you make that blizzard they were talking about?” She asked.
“Yes I did. I had to so I could turn it into winter here.” Frostmare answered.
“But sis, look! The animals aren’t doing well at all! Everypony’s scared now!” She protested.
“They’ll get over it. They never had a problem with cold weather before.” Frostmare answered.
“But this is different!” Misty said, descending to the ground.
“It’s better.” Frostmare said sternly. “Why waste so much time with a factory and loads of work making winter when I can make it in seconds? No winter’s ever been this beautiful!”
“For you, maybe.” Misty said. “You’re not even acting like my sister anymore!” She began to back away, then shuddered when her older sister’s eyes flashed blue, and she felt ice forming around her hooves, stopping her in her tracks. “Snow Angel… please…” She said, her eyes beginning to tear up.
“You listen to me, Misty…” Frostmare hissed, tranquil fury rising in her. “I was scared when I saw what happened to me. I’m trying to cope with this as best I can by appreciating what I can do now. For myself and for you. How can you think to not show the least bit of gratitude for trying to share what I can do with you?”.
“Mom’s not even home yet… did she get caught in all this…?” Misty asked, now starting to cry as the ice continued to spread around her legs. Suddenly it stopped, and Frostmare looked at her with a pained and guilt-ridden expression.
“Misty, please… don’t cry… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I-I don’t know what… came over me back there… please, you know I wouldn’t hurt you…” She said, approaching her cowering sister and putting her forelegs around her, embracing the filly. “Please, I’m sorry. I’ll fix this, I'll—“ She paused as she heard the creaking sounds of ice forming, and let go of her sister, noticing that the filly was now completely frozen. “Oh no… no, no, no, no, Misty!” She cried out, breaking into tears that froze the moment they left her eyes and fell into the snow around her.
Hearing something, Frostmare glanced up, noticing now that several pegasi were up in the air, flying around the clouds she’d created and beginning to break them apart. “No… you’re not taking this away!” She said angrily, letting out a furious scream as frozen tears still fell from her eyes. As the scream left her, powerful gusts of frigid wind spun around her, surging up to the sky and blowing all over the place, causing the pegasi to lose control and fall to the ground. The angry white pegasus approached them, jagged spires of ice erupting from the ground around and behind her. “Come to ruin my work, now? I got a better idea, come be a PART OF IT!” She asked, her eyes flashed blue and before the weatherponies could answer, their shocked expressions were soon frozen within icy prisons. Gazing back at her frozen sister for a second, Frostmare’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll show you all. I’ll show you all the beauty and power of the winter!” She declared, the winds picking up and the ice of the lake suddenly shaping and reforming into a tall throne.
~
“Ah was getting’ mighty suspicious when I saw ya weren’t exactly around as much, and ya seemed even more prone to nappin’ then usual, not to mention the stuff Braeburn was goin’ on about with that King Slinger feller, but WHEN exactly were ya plannin’ on tellin’ us?” Applejack asked.
“Look, I didn’t want you getting worried about me.” Rainbow said, looking down.
“Rainbow, you kept this from us for so long.” Fluttershy said, approaching. “I mean, maybe it wasn’t our business what you do with your freetime but it still hurts.”
“I dunno, I think it’s kinda cool to have a superhero for a friend!” Pinkie Pie said, causing the others to give her a look. “Hey, Rainbow’s feeling bad enough, we oughta make her not feel [i[too cornered!” She said with a shrug. Truthfully, the pink party pony was a little hurt too, and this new discovery made her feel bad she didn’t figure it out sooner and wonder how many times Rainbow had put herself in danger, but still, she was sure Rainbow had her reasons. “I mean you got to have been saving a lot of ponies who needed help, right?” She asked with a big smile, trying her best to keep the mood lightened.
“Yeah, I have, Pinkie. When I first got back into it, I saved Vinyl Scratch from a crazy pony who used this suit that created sound blasts.”
“Ooh, you mean DJ PON-3? I bet she really appreciated that!” Pinkie said, making a mental note to check up on her next time the deejay was back in ponyville.
“Yeah, and then there was the time Trixie got attacked by some bitter ex-assistant of hers.”
“Well, that’s hardly surprising.” Rarity commented. “I get she’s reformed, but the behavior she had before was simply unacceptable I’d imagine she’d make enemies along the way.” She said with a slight eyeroll.
“Well, even still, if you saw her after she was saved…” Rainbow said, sitting on her haunches. “This isn’t a glory thing. I’m just, look, after Cloudsdale, and especially after saving Vinyl got me back into things, I’ve been scared of somepony getting hurt and me not being there for them. I don't want somepony getting hurt or killed when I coulda been there to stop it.” She said, though she worried how it’d affect her wonderbolt training now.
“Well that’s mighty noble of ya, Dash. But still, the problem was ya hidin’ it from us like ya assumed we wouldn't get it.” Applejack explained.
“Aw, don’t you remember the first thing about superheroes, Applejack?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Superheroes NEVER reveal their identity to anypony if they can help it! I mean Twilight gets all the newspapers so I guess it was only a matter of time before she figured it out but superheroes gotta keep their identities secret so nopony they care about gets hurt by their enemies because if their enemies find out who they are or find out someone they care about knows who they are they’ll come after them to find out or get revenge through the ponies they care about and some of them get kidnapped or dropped off a bridge!”
The other five ponies and dragon all stared at her.
“Really, Pinkie, how do ya say all that in one sentence without breathing?” Applejack asked, unable to hide her amusement. “But point made an’ all. Rainbow Dash, if you really think this is something you’re meant for, an’ those stay your reasons, ah guess... ya got my support on this."
“I disagree.” Rarity said, approaching, and then proceeded to tap the belt on the Mare Do Well costume that had been recently added. “Not with THAT bulky, garish belt. Look, we can discuss the rest of this later but you see me after and I’ll fashion you up a better-looking one. I did design this costume, I feel it’s my responsibility to know what further accessories that get added should look like.”
“Oh, right. Rainbow, you probably should go deal with Frostmare. Before we got here, some ducks had found me, said she was on her way towards the lake… you might find her there if she hasn’t moved on.” Fluttershy said, hanging her head in embarrassment at the realization this argument had been a distraction. “Don’t worry, we won’t keep you here any longer.”
“Good, because I feel like kicking some frozen fla-… a…ank.” Rainbow said holding back a sneeze as she slid the mask and hat on, only for it to come back immediately after.
“Ew…” Spike remarked. “That’s kinda gross.”
Growling at the newly-acquired wetness inside her mask, Rainbow slid off the hat and mask, wiped off the latter on her sleeve, and slid both back on and departed. As Twilight watched her leave, the others noticed a look of worry come over her face.
~
“Misty… what have I done… what have I done…” Frostmare said, pacing in front of her icy throne and grimacing as every time she touched her frozen sister, who’d now become little more then pony-shaped ice that with every touch only grew thicker. “Everything I care about is gone… nothing left…” She muttered, sitting on her haunches, her wings flaring out and brief gusts of snowy wind surrounded her. She looked over at the frozen weatherponies, they’d tried to ruin this. Thanks to that accident, she had so little left, the joys that could have come with this felt so meager now, if they even existed anymore. She let out a bitter laugh, icy spires forming around her. “Why stop now, with just Ponyville… let Equestria see what happened to me and know what it cost me! I’ll turn this entire kingdom into a frozen wasteland before Celestia returns! Nopony would dare challenge me!”
Mare Do Well saw her opportunity, and swooped down for the attack. Unfortunately, the icy pegasus noticed the movement in the reflective ice and turned, summoning an ice barrier in front of her from the lake’s frozen surface, causing the superheroine to crash and fall to the snowy ground.
“Hm, interesting. Guess no city’s immune to you.” Frostmare said, getting up and glaring at the costumed pegasus. “Come to stop me? You should do yourself a favor and fly away as far as you can, while you can.”
“Sorry, Frostmare. Can’t do that. You can either set these ponies free, take your storm, and leave Ponyville for good, or I’ll send you out on a trip to Alkatrot!” Mare Do Well answered.
“Afraid not. This is my town now, and nopony, not you or even the Princesses will take it away from me!” She said, sneering. “And if you won’t leave, I’ll add you to my collection.” She added, gesturing to the frozen weatherponies.
Okay, definitely right that this pony’s not the least bit rational anymore. Rainbow thought to herself. “Try it.” She said, taking fighting stance.
Immediately Frostmane flew into the air and her eyes briefly flashed blue, and the ice barrier shattered into numerous ice shards that spun around her, and several of them flew at Mare Do Well like projectiles. The costumed pegasus rolled out of the way of the first few, then took to the air, doing loops, flips, and turns in the air to avoid the rest, finally getting in close enough to strike Frostmare with her hoof, causing her to somersault backwards in the air.
Righting herself and rubbing her face, Frostmare thrust her wings forward and ice shards flew from them. Mare Do Well flung a pair of flash bombs from her belt and they exploded upon getting hit by the shards, briefly blinding Frostmare and allowing the costumed pegasus to fly forward and attack her again. The two traded several blows, till Mare Do Well finally pinned Frostmare against her throne.
“I’m sorry about what happened to you, Snow Angel, but you’re really going about this the wrong way.” Mare Do Well said firmly.
“Oh really?” Frostmare said with a grin, “Then what would you suggest? Hiding in a cave till the weather gets cold enough I can leave it? Take up exile in the Northlands? I think I’m handling this as reasonably as I can!” She declared, sweeping her hoof across Mare Do Well’s left wing, grazing it, but in the process a layer of frost formed over it, then rose her legs up and kicked the costumed pegasus off her.
Crashing into a chunk of ice, Mare Do Well stood herself up just in time to see icy winds gathering around Frostmare again. “SO tense, Mare Do Well, what say you cool off?” She shouted, and the cold winds weaved together into a beam of cryogenic energy that flew straight at the costumed pegasus. Mare Do Well jumped out of the way just in time, the blast of cold promptly hit the ice chunk, thickening it dramatically. Mare Do Well heard a scream and saw the look of complete horror came over Frostmare’s face.
“MISTY!” She cried out, flying down and approaching the thick, icy tomb that contained her frozen sister. “Little sis… oh no…” She nuzzleed it helplessly, sniffling as she slowly embraced it. Rainbow was speechless and backed away instinctively. Did she say little sis? Realization came over her that Frostmare had obviously come here to reunite with family as well, and must have accidentally frozen her sister earlier by accident… and now had ensured she’d never survive.
“Look what you made me do!” Frostmare shouted furiously, her eyes now glowing a bright blue, her tone completely livid now. ”I’ll kill you for making me do that to my sister!” Letting out a loud, furious scream, the clouds above began to spin violently, frigid gales swirled around her, picking up snow and ice and forming a cyclone. With a ferocious growl, Frostmare thrust her hooves forward and the cyclone came right at the costumed pegasus, who immediately took to the air to try to avoid it, only to fall over clumsily as Frostmare’s power had now rendered the wing she’d grazed earlier completely frozen. The icy pegasus let out a bitter, cruel laugh as ice slowly began to form around Mare Do Well. “The winter is both beautiful and cruel, Mare Do Well! I want to hear you scream as your blood freezes over!” As the intensity of her frigid winds increased, however, she was suddenly zapped by a bolt of magic, knocking her over and causing the winds to instantly dissipate. Both pegasi turned and there stood Twilight Sparkle, scarf around her neck and face and saddlebag over her back.
“Twilight! What are you doing here?!” Mare Do Well cried out.
“Saving your flank, hero.” Twilight said, her horn glowing and the ice that had covered the costumed pegasus’ wing instantly shattered off, and in seconds, Rainbow felt her wing feel warm and thawed.
“I remember you… Celestia’s little gofer, along with the Mysterious Mare Do Well… you’ll both make lovely additions to my ice collection!” Frostmare stated. Twilight began to charge her magic, only to suddenly feel ice form around her legs and slowly creep up her body. Twilight then looked down in worry, and focused her magic on melting the ice around her. Gritting her teeth angrily, Frostmare’s eyes glowed and ice suddenly coated Twilight’s horn, causing her magic to fizzle and cry out in pain from a brief headache that came as a result.
“For costing me my sister, Mare Do Well, I’m going to let you watch!” Frostmare gloated with a laugh.
“Mare… Do Well… my… saddlebag… use it… on her…” Twilight said, her words strained from the unbearable cold as it crept up her body. With a nod, Rainbow used all her strength to break free of the ice that held her down and flew straight at Twilight, grabbing her saddlebag off her just before the ice worked its way up to her body, landing next to her and seeing an odd container fall from it. Picking it up with her hooves, Mare Do Well prepared to throw it, but was frozen in her tracks as she noticed Frostmare now had her full attention on her again.
“Well, well, I think I can work with this as well, two famous mares, ready to die together! How appropriate!” Frostmare said, her eyes flashing blue again and her entire throne tore itself out of the lake, and the icy villainess flew up next to it as she hovered over the now exposed lake, the throne reforming into a gigantic icicle she clearly intended to send their way.
Taking a deep breath, Mare Do Well took advantage of Frostmare’s distraction and tore herself free, flinging the container with all her might at the other pegasus. Frostmare raised an eyebrow in confusion and swung her hoof out to swat it aside, but in doing so, caused it to shatter when it impacted, splashing her with its steaming contents. Immediately the white pegasus screamed out in agony as though she’d been drenched in acid, the lifted throne crashing into the lake, shattering the ice atop it as the villainess herself, unable to fly due to the pain she was in, plummeted in after with a great splash, the entire lake freezing solid seconds after.
The clouds began to fade, and the sun began peering through again. Twilight’s horn glowed again, and the lavender unicorn began to thaw herself free again, and noticed her costumed friend staring at her.
“Twi, what the hay was in that container anyway?” Rainbow asked.
“Hot tea. When I decided to go after you, I figured I’d need something to help keep me warm if I needed it. Good thing I brought it along, huh?” The unicorn answered with a small smile. “Then back there I suddenly figured given Frostmare’s power and resistance to cold, her ability to stand heat probably dramatically lessened.”
“Well, good thinking, Twi.” Rainbow said, then looked over at the frozen lake that now served as a temporary prison for the villainous pegasus they’d just defeated. “So what’ll happen to her now?”
“I’ll have Spike send a letter to Luna right away, I’m sure she can get some ponies working on digging her out so they can ship her to Alkatrot.” Twilight answered.
“And what about all this?” The pegasus asked, noticing the clouds breaking apart and snow starting to melt without Frostmare powering it. “I mean we still gotta thaw out the weather team here, but I doubt they’ll be in any shape for cleaning up. Better send word to Cloudsdale for a back-up team.” Mare Do Well explained, only to feel another sneeze come and make its way out. “Then there’s her sister… is there anything we can do for her now?” She asked, looking at the frozen filly.
“I don’t know, Rainbow. I’ll thaw her out and get her to the Ponyville hospital right away. What happened to Frostmare, what will happen to her… we can only hope for the best.” Twilight replied, using her magic to try and melt away the layers of ice around the filly.
~
“Misty’s in a coma, lucky to be alive.” Twilight explained the next day.
“If she weren’t a pegasus, I doubt she would be alive.” Rainbow Dash replied, laying in the guest bed at the library as Rarity used her magic to give her hot soup.
“Be glad she is, Dash.” Applejack said. “Ah for one am, Dr. Stable’s got her under special watch, he’ll do all ‘e can.”
“Luna’s got the royal guard digging into the lake to recover Frostmare. The lake won’t thaw till she’s removed.” Twilight explained, returning to the room after having heard Spike coughing up a scroll. “Once they get her out, she’ll be sent to Alkatrot right away before she can thaw or wake up.”
“Great to know, but the whole Ponyville weather team, including me, has got nasty colds!” Rainbow said bitterly, causing a sneeze that made Rarity immediately back away, almost spilling the soup. “Ugh, if there’s one other thing to hate Frostmare for it’s leaving me stuck in bed till tomorrow!”
“Aw, don’t feel too bad, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie said. “You stopped that meanie snow mare, saved Ponyville, and Cloudsdale’s got the cleanup covered! Learn to take it easy again for once you’ve been such a stressy-mcstresserson being a weatherpony and a superhero the past while!”
“Um… I think what you’ve been doing is really good, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said with a small smile. “If it makes you feel better, I support you.”
“Me too.” Applejack said. “Just… next time ya decide to do somethin’ this extreme with your life, don’t keep it from us, okay? Secrets are never fun to keep from friends an’ ya know how much pressure somethin’ like that can be on Twilight.” She said.
Rarity levitated another spoonful of soup to Rainbow’s mouth. “Well, if you ever feel a need to update anything, do swing by the Carousel and I’ll spruce it up for you.” She said, then narrowed her eyes. “We’ll start with that belt.” She explained. “Don’t ever let me catch you wearing that ugly thing on my design again, you’ll have a better and no doubt more comfortable one no later then tomorrow!” The seamstress explained.
“Thanks, gi…ir… ir…” Rainbow began, another sneeze threatening her muzzle again and finally finding its way out. “Ugh, can’t wait to be rid of this. Those Cloudsdale weatherponies are like flying snails compared to me when it comes to weather cleanup.” She muttered, laying back and staring at the ceiling.
“Better send a letter to Celestia, too, let her know everything’s okay.” Twilight said, then looked at the cyan pegasus as she angrily rubbed her muzzle with a tissue. “Well, almost everything.”
~Alkatrot Island, Manehattan~
The gates of the large, imposing facility slid open as a metal carriage was wheeled through, white fog coming from its corners and sending chills down anypony who got to close to it. As the guards brought it inside, several unicorns arrived, their horns glowing as the carriage split in half, revealing a large block of ice containing a frozen white pegasus who looked as though she were screaming. Carrying it with their magic, they passed several occupied cells, including one where a unicorn stallion sat, listening to music, and a turquoise earth pony playing with a chess game by himself, and eventually reached a long hallway where a renovated solitary chamber awaited. Opening the large, vaultlike door, they floated the ice block in, and closed the door shut behind them.
Seconds after they left, cracks began to form around the ice block, spreading and joining, till finally it shattered apart, its former occupant screaming for a moment then landing on the floor, collapsing as she took several breaths. Frost soon began to gather around where she lay, coating the walls around her and the pegasus took in her surroundings, realizing she was now in a prison cell. Getting up and pacing, Frostmare glared at the tiny, reinforced glass window on the door. “You won’t keep me in here. Winter always returns, and when it does, nothing prevents it…” She said bitterly. Her train of thought was interrupted, though, when she suddenly heard the sound of a panel likely used for serving meals slide open, finding a letter within. Opening it, she read the contents.
I’ve heard about your loss, you are an amazing creature, Frostmare, as powerful and untamed as the elements themselves. I promise one day, you will make that clear to everypony when the time is right. Do not lose hope, for when that day comes, Mare Do Well will be the first to realize it.
~Big Shot
~
Mare Do Well sat on a Manehattan rooftop; staring off at the city as night had long since shrouded it in darkness save for the many lights that adorned its towering buildings. She suddenly could tell she was not alone and glanced over to the side.
“Princess Luna?” She asked.
“GREETINGS, RAINBOW DASH! WE HOPE YOU ARE WELL THIS FINE EVENING!” The Princess of the Night bellowed in her Royal Canterlot Voice, startling the pegasus, then the Princess laughed. “Enjoying this dream?” She asked, her voice now much softer and friendlier.
“This is a dream, huh?” Rainbow asked, sliding up her mask. “Better then the last one I had where I was wearing this.”
“I’m aware of that one.” Luna answered. “As I am no stranger to feeling the weight of ponies’ lives on my shoulders, and the guilt of losing them when I have done things I regret.” The alicorn looked at the moon, which was closer this time of year and made the night sky all the more beautiful. “I can only ward off your nightmares but so much, Rainbow Dash. It’s you who has to come to terms with all the responsibilities and costs of this path you’ve taken.”
“How can I do that?” The costumed pegasus asked.
“As I recall, you’ve made quite an impact as Mare Do Well. Perhaps you should reflect on the positive difference you have made because of that, as I have done when faced with the guilt of my own past. When you and your friends freed me from the Nightmare Force that had made me into Nightmare Moon, and cured me of the grief that allowed it to control me, I was frightened, and so full of guilt. My sister reappointed me my position, ponies appreciated my nights, and I protected them from bad dreams when they needed it most, like your friend Scootaloo. I think of the difference I’ve made from doing these things now, and it helps.” The alicorn Princess said.
“Thanks…” Rainbow answered, surprising herself with the simplicity of her answer when normally she’d just get cocky and say she was overqualified for thinking she could handle anything. But somehow, lately, it just didn’t come to her as much as it used to. “Twilight and my friends support me, I want to know they’re safe, and that them knowing won’t put them in danger.”
“My sister and I foresee a pony’s destiny, we even sometimes take part in guiding them towards it if need be…” She explained, recalling what Celestia had told her of Twilight when King Sombra had returned. “…But we do not create it, nor know in advance all the events that lead to it. What becomes of the path you’ve taken, and those who become involved in it, all depends on the choices you make.” The Princess said, turning and spreading her wings. “And for what it’s worth, I feel you’ve done very well so far.” With those last words, Rainbow Dash was once again alone on the rooftop, but less distressed then before.