//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Mare Do Well vs Professor Nightshade // by ssjgokillo //------------------------------// Mare Do Well vs Professor Nightshade Chapter 3: Crisis of Infinite Pinkie Pies         Something most ponies in Equestria don’t know is that the cost of house insurance in Ponyville has almost doubled since Twilight Sparkle moved to the small town.  While nopony would ever blame it on the bright librarian, it was a simple fact that her presence seemed to attract trouble that Ponyville hadn’t experienced before.  Sure, there was the occasional creature that would wander in from the Everfree Forest, but even that was a rare occurrence.  After Twilight Sparkle had settled in town, it seemed like the town was besieged with problems at least once a week.         Yet despite the citizens of Ponyville being subjected to all kinds of strange, sometimes life-threatening events, they never let it get them down for long.  In fact, the local construction company had gotten so adept at rebuilding houses and stores destroyed in some kind of catastrophe, that they could almost rebuild the entire town within the span of a couple of days.  It was almost like shortly after whatever crazy event befell Ponyville, within a couple of days everything would be back to normal, like it had never even happened.         That is not to say of course, that the ponies of Ponyville ever got used to the craziness that happened in their town.  In fact, whenever something like that happened, it tended to cause mass panic, with ponies galloping back and forth trying to figure out if they should be running or hiding.  Or just screaming about the horror of it all.         And this, True Believer, is the state we find the town in today.         “The horror!  The horror!” one mare called out as she galloped down the streets of Ponyville, away from the Town Hall where the catastrophe du jour was taking place.           It should also be pointed out, that some of the ponies in Ponyville had a tendency to be overly dramatic about somethings.  For there was no pitched battle taking place in the center of town, no god of chaos turning houses upside down, or even a butterfly stampede.  In fact, the only thing different about Ponyville today was the fact that there were purple flowers painted on the sides of every building in town.           Nopony knew what to make of it.  Daisy, who identified the pictures as Nightshades, could not even guess why anypony would go around painting them around town.  There were two ponies who recognized its significance after hearing its name however, and after gathering their friends, had gone to the Golden Oaks Library to discuss what should be done.         “I’m tellin ya girls, it was somethin else.”  Applejack said.  She had just finished telling the girls what had happened at Sweet Apple Acres the day before, how some crazy pony had captured her and Big Macintosh, and turned her beautiful apples into monsters.         “It sure was!  You should’ve seen me-er... Mare!  Yeah, Mare Do Well.”  Rainbow Dash laughed nervously, “You should’ve seen her!  She was flying through those apple creatures, she had to have taken down like a hundred of them!  It was all *whoosh*, *bam*!”  Rainbow Dash stood up on her hind legs and threw punches with her hooves to the sound effects she was making.         “Rainbow, we all know you’re Mare Do Well, you don’t have to hide it from us darling.” Rarity said.           Rainbow Dash sagged a little at that, before a wide grin split her face.  “It was awesome!  You girls should’ve seen me!  I mean, not to be too braggy or anything, but I totally kicked some flank!”         “Oh-oh my.  Are you sure you should be fighting like that Rainbow?  You could have gotten hurt.”  Fluttershy said.  She had a look of concern for her friend.  She would also have been upset over the apple-golems having been hurt, until she found out that they were simply enchanted apples, not real living creatures.         “Nah, I’ll be fine Fluttershy.  Besides, that Professor Nightshade is still out there!”  Rainbow Dash said.  She looked out the window, noticing the time.  “As a matter of fact, I should probably get out there and go on patrol.  She’s obviously up to something.  I’ll see you girls later!”  With that, Rainbow Dash zipped to the door, and flew off into the Ponyville sky.         “Well, it sounds like Rainbow Dash has things well in hoof right now.”  Twilight said, watching as Rainbow Dash’s prismatic trail faded into the sky.  “I say we watch and see what happens, and if Rainbow needs our help, then we’ll step in.”         The other four ponies in the room looked at her in confusion.           “Uhhh, sugarcube, don’t you think you should send a letter to Princess Celestia or something?  Dash did say that this Professor Nightshade was an alicorn, don’t you think that’s just a mite bit important?  Applejack asked.         It took everything Twilight had to not let the panic she felt at that flash across her face.  Tell Princess Celestia?  About her alter-ego?  That was the last thing she wanted to do.  Even the thought about how disappointed her mentor would be if she ever found out almost made her give up the entire charade altogether.  While these thoughts whirled through her mind, she smiled at Applejack, and nodded.         “Good idea Applejack, I’ll send her a letter once Spike gets back from the market.  In the meantime though, we should be on standby, ready to help Rainbow Dash if she needs it.  This whole thing means a lot to her, so I don’t want to step in unless she can’t handle it.”   Twilight said.         The others looked hesitant, but nodded in agreement.           “Ya know though, it’s the darndest thing.  After Applebloom and her friends finally got Big Mac and I untied, we went out to try and clean up the mess and finish the chores for the day, only they’d all already been done.  All the apple bushels were stacked near the barn, the pigs had been fed.  Hay, even some of the trees had been pruned.”  Applejack said in confusion.         “Are you saying that this... Professor Nightshade was it?  That she did your chores after capturing you?”  Rarity asked incredulously. “I don’t know, but that’s how we found things...”  Applejack said before trailing off, her eyes narrowed in thought.  “Wait a sec... Rainbow Dash fought off those apple creatures and chased off Professor Nightshade.. and then she left me and Big Mac tied up!” Applejack ran to the door, flinging it open before shouting angrily into the sky.  “RAINBOW DASH!  YA GET YER HIDE DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW YA FEATHERBRAIN!”  With that, Applejack galloped into the town, looking to give Rainbow Dash a piece of her mind. Rarity simply shook her head in exasperation.  “Well darling, since Rainbow Dash seems to have things in hoof currently, I’ll be off.  I was working on a new line of outfits for summer, and I don’t want to lose my momentum.” “Oh yes, and I really should get back home.  Poor Angel Bunny ate too much this morning and isn’t feeling very well.”  Fluttershy said.   “Alright girls, I’ll be in touch if anything changes.”  Twilight said.  She smiled, and waved at her friends as they left the library.  One the door closed, she sighed in relief.  She didn’t really want to involve the other girls in her and Rainbow Dash’s conflict.  Though, that wasn’t precisely right... she didn’t want them to get involved in Professor Nightshade and Mare Do Well’s conflict.  She would have to think of something to tell Princess Celestia though.  There would be a chance that news of what was happening in Ponyville could make it over to Canterlot.  But what could she tell the Princess... Twilight turned around to head into the library, thinking about what she would write to her mentor.  She only took a couple steps, before bumping into something soft, and pink.  She shook her head, and focused back to the here and now.  She had bumped into Pinkie Pie, who had apparently not left with the others.  Instead she was standing there, looking at Twilight with a look so serious, she’d have thought someone had mentioned a Pinkie Promise. “Err... is there something you need Pinkie?”  Twilight asked. “Soooo... Professor Nightshade huh?  You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you Twilight?”  Pinkie Pie said.  It took Twilight a moment to realize that Pinkie Pie was speaking like a hard-boiled detective from the movies.   “Ummm... nope, can’t say that I do.”  Twilight said, smiling nervously. Pinkie Pie stared at her for a moment.  Twilight felt like Pinkie was looking into her mind, laying bare all her silly plans and thoughts.  She could feel sweat starting to form on her brow as the pink mare seemed to contemplate something. Then, without warning, Pinkie’s face broke out into one of her bright smiles.  “Okie doki loki!  I’ll see you later than Twilight!”  She said, before she began bouncing out of the library. Twilight stood frozen in place for a few moments.  She was so sure the jig was already up.  And then... well, nothing.  It was just so Pinkie Pie.  She shook her head and sighed.  She’d have to be really careful, for all she knew Pinkie Pie had a combo with her Pinkie Sense that told her when one of her friends was pretending to be evil. But that would just be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? … Well, she’d just have to be careful.  Besides, it was just about time to start her next caper, and with Dash already out on patrol, she wouldn’t even have to do anything to get her attention. She channeled her magic, her normal purple aura flowing down her back.  After another moment of concentration, purple and black butterfly wings appeared on her back.  She smiled as she looked back at them.  It was getting easier and easier to cast the wings spell.  She concentrated again, and shivered as it felt like her body was dunked in cold water.  Once the feeling passed, she looked down, to see the illusion had been completed.  To anypony else, she would now look like the evil alicorn, Professor Nightshade.  Another spell to change the color of her magical aura, and she was ready to go. “Hey Twilight, I’m back.  You wouldn’t believe what’s going on out...there...”  Spike said as he walked into the library, trailing off at the sight of the alicorn. Twilight mentally cursed to herself.  She had made such an amateur mistake, changing into her alter-ego in the middle of the library.  There was nothing she could do for it now, she was already in character. "Ohhhh, you're a big iguana." Professor Nightshade cooed at Spike. "Hey! I'm not an Iguana, I'm a dragon!" Spike said indignantly. "And who are you anyways? Another one of those Princess groupies Twilight told me about?" Professor Nightshade laughed, but there was no mirth behind it. It sounded hollow, and it clearly was making spike uncomfortable. "Oh I assure you, the wings and the horn are quite real. Shall I give you a demonstration?" Spike gulped, taking a step back before he was lifted up in a green telekinetic field. He was flown over, hanging upside down in front of Professor Nightshade. "You're not very big for a dragon. I bet you're just a baby! A widdle baby dwagon!" She said, her voice gaining a higher pitch at the end. “Want to play a game widdle dwagon?”  Professor Nightshade singsonged, grinning at her captive. MDWvsPN Mare Do Well was on her third flight over the town when she heard the first scream.  She followed the sound, diving down to the streets of Ponyville.  The scream had come from a mare who was currently held in the viney grip of what looked to be a flower monster.  Its head, or at least what looked to be a head, was made of of five purple petals, at the center of which was a fanged mouth.  It walked along on its roots, and two leafy vines stuck out from it’s stem.   More screams and shouts of alarm came from the town.  Mare Do Well turned to see one of the flower monsters pull itself off the side of a building.  It seemed that each of the flower drawings Professor Nightshade had left on the buildings were coming to life, and were grabbing ponies, though nopony seemed to be hurt yet. Mare Do Well leapt into action, quite literally.  She leapt towards the flower monster, rear leg extended in what she had decided was her signature kick.  She hit it solidly, but the flower monster didn’t budge.  Instead, it swatted her away with one of its vines, causing Mare Do Well to go flying through the air. She recovered easily enough, flipping in mid air to land on her hooves.  These things were apparently tougher than the apple-golems she’d fought.  Her kick didn’t even phase this one, which was starting to move towards her.   The flower monster swiped at her again, forcing Mare Do Well to jump into the air.  She quickly ducked a followup swing, and tried to counter by kicking at it again.  It had the same effect unfortunately, and the time it took her to complete the kick cost her, causing her to get hit by the vine again.  She went flying, crashing into a wall.   She groaned, not so much in pain than in annoyance.  Nightshade had really stepped up her game with these guys.  Mare Do Well was fairly certain she’d be sporting some bruises if it wasn’t for the spell Twilight had cast on her costume.  Instead her costume was sporting green splotches of paint. Paint... thats it!  These things were just more of Professor Nightshade’s creations.  She just transformed them from the drawings on the building into these plant monsters, like how she had changed the apples into apple-golems.   And if these things were made out of paint, then she had an easy answer to deal with them. Mare Do Well flared her wings open and took to the air.  The mare currently held in the plant monster’s grasp cried out for help, but she had to act fast.  She scanned the skies for a moment, before rocketing off towards her objective, a group of clouds that had just rained on some of the farmlands.   Mare Do Well grasped the clouds, pushing them back towards Ponyville was fast as she could without breaking them up.  She carefully positioned one above the flower monster she had been fighting, before flipping over and jumping repeatedly on the cloud.  Her efforts were almost instantly rewarded, as the cloud began pouring rain down upon the creature.  The creature froze in place as the water fell upon it.  Slowly, the creature began melting, washing away in the rain, leaving a paint stained mare standing in the middle of the street. “Th-thank you Mare Do Well!”  The mare called out gratefully.  Mare Do Well gave a salute, before grabbing the cloud and moving on.  Now she knew how to beat these guys, she’d just have to clean them up! Which is exactly what she did, to the cheers of the citizens of Ponyville.  Each stallion, mare, filly and colt cheered her on as she flew above Ponyville, washing away the flower monsters.  She almost said she was just raining on their parade, but decided to save that one in case Professor Nightshade showed up.  She’d show her witty banter! That was the strange thing though.  As Mare Do Well finished off the last of the flower monsters, she realized that there had been no sight of the evil alicorn.  In fact, other than going through Ponyville and grabbing random ponies, even these flower monsters didn’t seem to be doing much.  She couldn’t figure it out, what was Professor Nightshade playing at? “Mare Do Well!”  A familiar voice called from the ground.  Mare Do Well looked over her cloud on saw Twilight standing in the paint covered streets, waving her hoof frantically.  Whatever she wanted, she looked worried.   Mare Do Well was there in a flash, standing before the purple unicorn. “Mare Do Well, I need your help!  Professor Nightshade she... she...”  Twilight couldn’t seem to finish her sentence, she was so distraught. “What did she do Twi?  Is everypony okay?”  Mare Do Well asked. “She... she stole all the books from the library!”  Twilight said, before she began to cry. Mare Do Well just barely resisted the urge to facehoof.  Seriously?  Book?!  She thought somepony was in trouble!  Still, Twilight was taking it pretty hard.  Nopony was going to get away with making one of her friends cry! “No worries Twi, I’ll track her down and get your books back!”  Mare Do Well said, trying to reassure the crying mare. “*sniffle* Th-thanks Rai-Mare Do Well.  I knew I could count on...”  Twilight was cut off, as a stream of green fire appeared above their heads, curling into itself before making a popping sound, and dropping a scroll to the ground. Twilight grabbed the scroll in her magic, quickly unrolling it and letting her eyes scan over the page.  Her eyes widened in horror at whatever she read, and she began shaking. “Twi?  Twilight what’s wrong?”  Mare Do Well asked. Twilight didn’t answer, she just used her magic to shove the scroll into Mare Do Well’s face.  Mare Do Well took a step back, biting back a complaint, as she read the letter.          Hey there Marey!  Did you have fun with my little art project?  Weren’t they just to die for?  Seriously though, did you die?                   [ ] Yes                 [ ] No         Ah well, it doesn’t matter.  I’ve currently got all the books from the Golden Oaks Library, but I also have something else.         A pesky little dragon that showed up during my heist.  So how about we play a game?  I’ve hidden both the books and the dragon somewhere within the Everfree Forest.  We’re going to have a race, lets see if you can find them before something else does.         Of course, the forest is a little big, so I’ll leave you some clues.  Good luck, and try not to die, I think I might miss you if you did.         Or not, I guess we won’t know unless it happens. Hate you to death,         Professor Nightshade P.S. Mwahahahahahahaahahaaaahahaaaa! P.P.S. I almost forgot about your clue!  Here it is: What’s black and white and red all over?  You get it?   Mare Do Well narrowed her eyes and threw the paper on the ground.  Twilight was crying again, and this time Mare Do Well could easily empathize.  This crazy mare had taken Spike, and hidden him somewhere in the Everfree Forest.  And now she’d have to follow some stupid scavenger hunt to try and save him.  The next time she saw Professor Nightshade, she was going to give her a buck right in the teeth. That was for later though, for now she had work to do.  She laid a hoof comfortingly on Twilight’s back.  “Hey Twilight, don’t cry.  I promise I’ll get Spike back for you okay.  Oh, and those books too!” Twilight sniffled, and shook her head.  “No, not you.  We.  I’m going with you!”  She said, wiping her eyes quickly and looking determined. Mare Do Well was about to argue about the danger, but stopped quickly after she remembered who she was talking to.  Twilight wasn’t just any old unicorn, she was like the most powerful unicorn ever.  And if she was going to go into the Everfree Forest, she might need help. So instead she nodded.  “Alright Twi, lets go save Spike.  Should we get the other girls?”  Mare Do Well asked. Twilight shook her head.  “There’s no time, who knows what could happen to Spike by the time we get them.  We have to hurry, what do you think about the first clue?” Mare Do Well laughed.  “Oh that, that’s an easy one, we used to tell that joke all the time at flight camp.  The answer is a sunburned zebra.”  She said. Twilight nodded, before the two looked at each other in alarm.  “Zecora!”  The shouted, before rushing off to the Everfree Forest. .