//------------------------------// // Prologue: When darkness falls // Story: Mare-Do-Well: Dark Reflections // by VampDash //------------------------------// It was getting late as Rarity headed back to the Carousal Boutique. She was tired from the events of the day but she also had a faint hint of regret; recently she and her other friends had taken notice that Rainbow Dash was letting all of the fame she’d drawn to herself from her recent heroics go to her head and they had decided to do something about it. Their plan halfway worked; the town loved their new hero but they failed to find and tell Rainbow Dash after the ceremony to explain themselves. Amethyst Star had mentioned her growing increasingly desperate to prove herself by partaking in some rather ridiculous ‘heroics’ and demanding praise for them, including a moment with a peanut butter jar, and Scootaloo asked if Rarity had seen her, saying that Rainbow Dash was really depressed the last time she was with her. I hope she didn't get too angry about the whole thing Rarity thought to herself We only wanted to show her how bad the ego trip was for her, and demonstrate what a real hero is like. They had done the right thing, hadn't they? Rainbow was known for loyalty but also for pride, and when it got too far she had a way of ignoring any criticism directed on her. Besides, if the others hadn't stepped in when they had, who knew what kind of damage could have occurred, and how many lives could have been lost because Rainbow Dash wasted too much time showing off? She eventually made it to the front of the Boutique and floated her keys from her saddlebag and into the lock... only to find the door already unlocked and slightly open Sweetie must have come by early. Rarity thought, trying in vain to soothe herself but what she saw ensured that her worst fears were realized. Somepony broke into her boutique. Her first instinct was to run and check on Sweetie Belle's room and see if she was okay. Her worries only increased when she saw her sister's room in complete disarray indicating someone did, in fact, enter the room and nearly tore it apart like they were looking for something. "Sweetie!" she shouted trying to get her sisters attention "Sweetie Belle you can come out now the bad pony’s..." whatever she was going to say next died in her throat as she saw a note on her sisters bed room wall. To the ever arrogant Rarity I have your sister and I know the dirty little secret you and your friends are trying to hide. if you truly value your sisters safety you will not hunt me down do you understand? She stared at the note again and again trying to comprehend what has just occurred. When she did though her rage burned like a thousand suns exploding. Somepony is going to pay! She turned to leave the destroyed room but failed to notice that the box of costumes her friends wore was broken open and that the pegasus outfit was missing. Quick as lightning Rarity ran from the Boutique and towards the center of town, the library, to see if Twilight could help her. "Twilight!" Rarity shouted "Twilight we need to talk!" she shouted once more yet was only met by silence. She started to head back home when the door finally opened to reveal not Twilight but a deeply troubled-looking Applejack. "Hey Rares you got one too?" Applejack asked her white unicorn friend. After looking at her friend quizzically she finally noticed a letter in her friends saddlebag... a letter with a familiar hoof signature on it. It didn't take Rarity too long to realize that Applebloom was foalnapped as well, meaning that this ruffian, whoever they were, probably knew where all of her friends lived... including Rainbow Dash. She wanted to go out and hunt this arrogant crook down right then and there but what could they do with their sisters lives at stake? "I'm so sorry Applejack but maybe Twilight can-" Applejack held out a hoof indicating Rarity should stop "I already asked her sugar cube but she say's she ain't got nuthin on who took my sister and if it's the same crook they probably didn't leave anything behind too." With that depressing thought on their minds Rarity entered the library. What surprised her at first was the fact that the whole place was in complete disarray in contrast to the clean look it usually portrayed. "Twilight? Darling what happened?" Rarity asked and that's when she saw one of the single most disturbing things in her life. Twilight Sparkle the most level headed of her friends was stroking her tail with her hoof repeatedly on the floor with a look of pure insanity on her face and she could swear she heard her muttering to herself that "It'll be fine it's all going to be just fine we just have to find out about spike and it'll be just fine". The sight made the time Twilight feared tardiness on a report to Celestia tame in comparison and was enough to make the fashionista cringe in horror. To think all of this caused her to degenerate into this was beyond the worst possible thing ever! She started to try and comfort her friend when a letter suddenly appeared in front of Twilight who promptly ripped open the envelope with her magic and proceeded to read the letter. URGENT REQUEST! My faithful student Canterlot is under attack and the castle is sustaining heavy damage. But I need you to promise me no matter what you will not attempt to assist me or Luna in this fight! From: Celestia As soon as Twilight finished the letter it combusted into ash and another took it's place. Hello Twilight Sparkle By now you probably got a letter from the former princess of Equestria. Well I'm here to say that you won't be taking any more letters from her anytime soon. If you and your precious friends are truly loyal to her you will come and fight me. NO HELP FROM THE ELEMENTS! Not that you could, after all, one of your fellow bearers is already headed this way. If I'm not mistaken it's the one they call Rainbow Crash? Oh, she'll be fun to break. The note soon combusted again though this time due to the unicorn’s rage. First this arrogant self obsessed crook captures Spike, Applebloom, Sweetie, and probably Scootaloo as well but now they had the very nerve to try and take over Canterlot and proclaim themselves the new ruler of Equestria? They were going to suffer in ways never thought possible. "Rarity get the others we're going to Canterlot." Twilight said with pure malice in her voice. Moments later the whole group got together as Twilight started to cast an extremely powerful teleportation spell. ________________________________________ *twenty minutes later* Twilight and the others headed towards the throne room inside the castle, tripping over unconscious and dead guards alike, with a look on their faces that spoke volumes they found the main door and proceeded through it. What they saw nearly took the fight out of them. All across the floor were dead or dying guards from both Celestia's and Luna's own personal honor guards in various poses, and the room itself was somehow much darker despite the windows around it. Before they could go and help the closest one they heard the most disturbing laugh in their lives. "So the little heroines finally decided to show up huh?" a dark and foreboding female voice asked. Because of the echo effect in the room they had no idea where the sound was originating from. "Who do you think you are huh? Think you're tough fighting in the shadows? Too scared to fight us fair and square?" Applejack yelled in the room and once more that same laughter pierced her hearing "Well if that's how you want it then. But remember you asked for it." She heard the voice say and moments later a figure glided down from the ceiling with only the grace of a pegasus but what shocked the girls was the outfit that she wore. It was one of the Mare-Do-Well costumes that they used but instead of purple and blue, it was a red-orange with a black mask and cape, with a dark yellow bodysuit, like a negative version of its color scheme. The broach had also been altered, with a large N in place of the M, and the eye lenses were now a piercing yellow. "Well what do you think, like the outfit? What am I saying? OF COURSE YOU DO! After all Rarity, you made it from scratch." Enraged, Rarity charged forward with a flurry of kicks and punches that the mysterious assailant merely side stepped out of the way of before tripping her over, giving the villainess an opening to strike her in the gut and with a groan Rarity went down. "RARITY!" Fluttershy shouted and started to fly over to retrieve her friend when the assailant flew up faster than she could've thought and swooped down, dive-bombing her into the floor. "W-who a-are you?" Fluttershy asked before passing out "I honestly never thought about it at first but you know what I think you can just call me The Nefarious Negamare. It has a nice ring to it don't you think?" Negamare asked before kicking her out of the way. The final three mares then glared at her in looks of pure hatred "So who wants to dance next, hmm?" She asked. Her answer came as all three charged her at once but to no avail as she quickly overwhelmed them with her superior speed and strength. With all five mares down for the count she quickly tied them up to ensure they wouldn't go anywhere and placed inhibitor rings on the two unicorns horns and tied up Fluttershy’s wings to ensure she wouldn't fly off. Twilight was the first to awaken. "Oh goody, you’re awake! I was wondering who would be the first. Those rings are pretty cool, aren't they? They use those to suppress the powers of unicorn criminals when they’re apprehended… rather appropriate seeing as how you just tried to overthrow your new ruler, am I right?" Negamare said to which she earned a glare from Twilight. "In case you're wondering where Celestia and her weak sister are I wouldn't worry about them now. They aren't dead if that's what you're worried about, even with my power, I can't kill two goddesses! Nah I just banished them to their polar opposites." She taunted and earned a smirk from Twilight. "You know we may have lost but you seem to forget there's actually six of us and you beat five." Twilight said with a burst of pride. Despite them giving her a rough time she knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't let them down in the end. She never faltered when it came to her loyalty so it surprised her when Negamare laughed hauntingly "What? You mean Rainbow Crash? Didn't you get the memo? She was the first to arrive and the first to fall. Want proof? I have a token of hers right here." The villainess said and pulled something from beneath her outfit... it was Rainbow's element but it was gray and had a blood stain on it. Realization hit Twilight like a freight train "N-n-n-no sh-she isn't- she can't be." Twilight stammered for a few moments as the necklace hit ground with a dead clank and slid in front of her hooves, devoid of the shine it once had. Negamare leaned in close for a personal message "I should thank you… your little stunt made her reckless enough to try and challenge me before any of you had the chance to get here. I'll have you know she died like the sniveling failure I always knew she was. But I shall grant her final request that at least her friends and family are spared as I'm a benevolent ruler." Negamare taunted. With those words, she turned around and went back to the throne and sat on it as though she owned it which at the moment she did. "Hail to the queen bitches." Negamare said before darkness embraced Twilight once more. A year had passed, and with the fall of the Princesses of night and day, Equestria was plunged into an eternal twilit state that brought a gradual decay into the kingdom, and ever since then Negamare has ruled with and iron hoof. A few have tried challenging her rule, both good and bad, only to be met with similar defeat; she’d allowed them to escape with their lives, if only to tell others of their failure and that she could not be defeated. But while all this happened here, in another Equestria a hero had risen. A hero who has stared death in the face and bucked it right back where it came from. A hero only known as The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!