Chapter 8
Mare Do Well vs Professor Nightshade
Chapter 8: Piedentity Crisis
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
A week has passed since the final battle between Mare Do Well and Professor Nightshade. A letter was found posted to the door of Town Halls saying that Professor Nightshade had been defeated and would no longer be bothering the town. There was no signature, but none was needed, for everypony knew that it was their hero who had triumphed.
For most ponies life in Ponyville had returned to normal. But not for our hero, nor our misguided villain. While good has triumphed over evil, there is one force that has not won out yet. Take these words with you on your own journey True Believer, for these are the truths of this world; Good will always win over evil, friendship is magic
And true love conquers all.
MDWvsPN
Seven. Seven whole days had passed. Seven days since she lost herself, and seven days since she had been saved. But she had lost. She had lost too much, and she wasn’t sure she could recover.
Twilight’s friends had been very displeased when they returned from Canterlot the day following Professor Nightshade’s defeat, save for Pinkie Pie. And in Twilight’s mind, they had every right to be. She’d tricked them, sent them off to a party that didn’t exist to keep them safe... or to keep them from meddling with Professor Nightshade’s plans, it was so hard to tell who was who during those days.
Pinkie Pie played the whole thing off as a prank, and began reprimanding Twilight for what was and was not acceptable in the fine art of pranking. She did this of course, while she was wrapped around Twilight’s body, crushing her in a hug and crying tears of joy.
Her friends knew of course, that that wasn’t the whole story. Pinkie’s actions would be proof enough of that. The fact that, as Pinkie had hugged her and began telling her off for her poor prank choice, Twilight had began sobbing like a filly who was only capable of saying “Sorry” over and over again further cemented that idea.
But her friends wouldn’t pry. They would wait for her to tell them when she was ready.
And it wasn’t like the entire “prank” was a bust, according to Rarity. Princess Celestia had spent the day showing them around Canterlot, and regaling them with stories of Twilight’s foalhood. Embarrassing stories mostly, if the grin on Rarity’s face was and indication.
So her friends had returned to their homes, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who insisted on staying with Twilight. She didn’t offer any pretenses, didn’t try to use a sleepover or a party as an excuse.
“You need somepony right now Twilight, and I need to assure myself that you’re still here.” Pinkie had told her, having not left her side that entire day.
Pinkie Pie had been right, it seemed like she often was when it truly mattered. And that night, when the guilt and sorrow became too much, when Twilight felt like she was drowning in a sea of her own tears, Pinkie Pie had held her. She had held her and whispered happy things into her ear, until Twilight had finally fallen asleep.
After that, things returned to normal between Twilight and her friends. If for the next couple days Pinkie Pie was a little more huggy than usual, then nopony commented on it.
But between Twilight and Rainbow Dash, things were far from normal.
Twilight hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash at all during those seven days. She had tried to visit her at the pegasus’ cloud house, but there had been no answer. Twilight had spent the majority of those seven days sitting on her balcony, staring at the blue sky and hoping to see a trail of rainbow.
But she never did. None of her friends had seen Rainbow in fact. Their feisty pegasus friend had disappeared, and only Twilight knew the reason why.
So Twilight suffered, but she accepted it. She had brought it upon herself after all. She accepted the tormenting feelings of guilt and sorrow as her punishment, it was no less than she deserved. Besides, those feelings paled in comparison to the ultimate punishment Twilight had been dealt. For she had fallen in love, she had unknowingly given a piece of her heart to that rainbow-maned pegasus, and without her, Twilight simply felt empty.
MDWvsPN
Twilight dragged her hooves as she walked through the library. This morning, like every morning since the day after her friends returned from Canterlot, she simply went through the motions of her life before Professor Nightshade. She woke up at seven, prepared herself a simple breakfast of coffee and toast. She then groomed herself for the day, before opening the library to the public. She would then pick a book off the shelves at random, and set it in front of her, and stare at the word on the pages. She didn’t read them, but having the book sitting in front of her was a comforting reminder of how thing had been. It also helped keep Spike from asking what was wrong. She could tell that her despondent attitude was confusing the little guy, and that he desperately wanted to help her. But there was nothing even her Number One Assistant could do.
She walked into the kitchen, and opened a cupboard. She stared blankly at the empty jar that should have held her coffee beans. Of course, she hadn’t been shopping in over a week now. It was a surprise there was any food left in the place.
“Spike.” Twilight called. She was hoping her friend would be willing to go to the market for her today. She just didn’t have the energy for it.
“Yeah Twi?” Spike said. He looked at her cautiously, not afraid of her, but afraid for her. He looked at her like she was a piece of glass, that he could already see the thin cracks in. Like one small touch could make her shatter.
“Could you go to the market and pick up some groceries? We’re out of pretty much everything.” Twilight said, showing the empty cupboards on display.
Spike nodded. “Sure thing Twilight! Where’s the list?”
Twilight thought about that. A list? Of course she should have a list. She always had lists, and checklists, and schedules, and backup emergency schedules in case something unexpected happen.
Now though, it all seemed so pointless. “Sorry Spike, I haven’t made a list yet. Why don’t you just go get some bread and some coffee, and I’ll work on writing down anything else we need.” She said.
Spike nodded and gave her a smile. “Will do Twilight, I’ll be back with your coffee before you know it!” Spike said, dashing out the kitchen. A few moments later, he returned, an embarrassed smile on his face. “Uhhh...I forgot to get the bits.” He said.
Twilight gave a small smile to her friend. She used her magic to levitate a small pouch of bits into Spike’s waiting claw. With those in hands, the young dragon gave Twilight a salute, and ran off to accomplish his task.
Twilight sighed as she heard the door shut. She levitated two slices of bread into the toaster and set it, knowing that even though she didn’t feel like eating, she had to give her body something to go off of.
She heard the door to the library open and close again. “Did you forget something else Spike?” She called out, wondering what the little dragon could have possibly forgotten.
There was no answer. Confused, Twilight walked out of the kitchen and into the main room of the library.
Then she froze.
Standing there, in the center of the room, her head down and her bangs covering her eyes, was Rainbow Dash.
Twilight felt her heart jump all the way into her throat. She swallowed thickly, tears already forming in her eyes. Here she was. Her savior, her friend, the pegasus she loved. “Dashi- Rainbow Dash...” Twilight said, her voice choked with emotion.
Rainbow Dash simply stood there. Silence descended upon the room. It was so quiet, Twilight could actually hear the pitter-patter sound of her tears falling to the floor. It was even quiet enough for her to hear them joined by another pitter-patter sound, as drops of liquid fell from Rainbow Dash’s face.
“I hate you...” Rainbow Dash mumbled, too quiet for Twilight to hear in spite of the otherwise silent room.
Twilight looked on in confusion. “Um, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, what was that?” She asked.
Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, but Twilight could see her body trembling. Before Twilight could ask what was wrong, Rainbow Dash had launched herself forward, knocking Twilight to the ground and standing over her.
Twilight could finally see Rainbow Dash’s face, and it made her gasp in shock. There were deep bags under her eyes, and she looked pale, like she hadn’t slept in days. Her face was twisted in rage and sorrow, and tears were flowing from her eyes.
“I HATE YOU!” Rainbow Dash scream, her chest heaving as she glared down at Twilight. “I hate you! I hate you sooo much...” She said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Twilight felt her heart breaking at Rainbow’s admission. She hadn’t even realized that some small, tiny part of her had held out hope that she and Rainbow could still be together somehow.
“I...I h-hate you!” Rainbow said as her chest heaved with sobs. Twilight felt awful, knowing she had driven her friend, the one she loved, to feel like this.
Then, Rainbow did the last thing Twilight would have ever expected.
She fell onto Twilight, wrapping her forelegs around her, and kissed her.
The kiss was fierce, angry, and salty with their mix of tears. Rainbow Dash pulled away, glaring at Twilight, before leaning in to kiss her again.
“I...” She kissed Twilight on the nose, “hate...” she kissed Twilight on the cheek, “you!” She kissed Twilight again, on the lips. She pulled away, her face still mixed with anger and sadness, almost daring Twilight to say something.
So she did. “I love you Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash recoiled as if she had been slapped. The anger in her face bled away, leaving only sorrow... sorrow and what looked like... relief? Tears began spilling from her eyes in earnest, and she suddenly wrapped herself around Twilight, wailing into her chest.
Twilight knew tears were practically gushing from her own eyes, as she shakily wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash, nearly crushing her in her embrace.
The two lay like that, crying with each other, sharing their sorrow. Neither noticed Spike open the door a few minutes later, nor did the notice him set lock the door, before turning around and leaving. He would stand vigil at the front door, turning away any guests or friends, until they had finished with whatever was going on.
After all, he wasn’t Twilight’s Number One Assistant for nothing.
MDWvsPN
They had finally cried themselves out, but not to the point where they had fallen asleep. No, there was too much energy between the two. Too much that still had to be said.
Rainbow finally released her death grip on Twilight, pushing herself up and off the mare. She shakily got onto all four hooves, before offering a hoof up to Twilight. Twilight gratefully accepted the gesture, and was pulled to her hooves. The two stared at each other for a moment, their hooves still clasped.
It was Rainbow Dash who finally broke the stare. She let Twilight’s hoof fall from hers, and looked away. Her eyes were still wet, her face tear stained, but she was no longer crying. “I... I thought I lost you.” She finally said.
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but Dash held up a hoof. She needed to get this out now. “Wait, let me finish.” She said.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, and looked at Twilight, staring deep into the unicorn’s purple eyes. “When Nightshade, when he dropped that image of you or whatever into that cauldron. I thought you were dead. Right after I had realized how much you meant to me, you were gone. And you know what? I felt part of myself die right there too.”
Twilight was openly crying again. It hurt Rainbow to see her like this, even if a tiny hateful part of her was glad to see that the unicorn was so torn up over this. “And then, then I found out you were Nightshade. Or created Nightshade, or whatever. And suddenly it was the whole Mare Do Well thing all over again. You tricking me, making a fool out of me.”
She glared at Twilight then. “Why? Did you just want to make me look like an idiot? Where you laughing this whole time thinking about how stupid I was, for buying into all this?”
Twilight shook her head, trying to speak past the sobs that wracked her body. “N-n-no D-dashie. Y-you just sounded so upset over not being able to be Mare Do Well. I j-just wanted to make you happy.”
She stared at Twilight, looking for any signs that the unicorn wasn’t being honest. All she saw was a mare, a broken mare. So she nodded, and continued her speech.
“That’s what I thought. I know you Twilight, and I know you wouldn’t purposefully try to hurt anypony. That’s what made everything worse you know?” A tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped a foreleg across her eyes, wiping away any remaining tears. “I thought that not only had I lost you, but it was my fault. All for some stupid superhero kick.”
Rainbow tried to smile, but it was forced. “Then, then I remember what you had told me that night about Nightshade, and I realized that you were actually telling me how to stop her. So I did, and then you were back..."
Twilight took that moment to speak. "Th-that... that was my plan. I knew that Nightshade would only exist as long as Mare Do Well did... she was obsessed. I had devised the whole thing to put the two of you in a situation where you'd be able to dispell her illusion, and then hoped that you'd remembered what I told you. I kept all that locked away, in the deepest parts of my mind, just like Nightshade had done to me when she foalnapped Spike.
Rainbow shot a glare at Twilight but continued on. "But after it was all over... it was like nothing had been real. Like this entire past month had all just been an act...”
Rainbow trailed off, her mind revisiting the events since she had first come to Twilight to ask if she could enchant her Mare Do Well costume. “I couldn’t take it, so I ran. I flew and flew until I wasn’t even sure where I was anymore, and the entire time all I could think about was your smile, but all I could hear was Nightshade’s laughter. So I ran from that, and I kept running, until I finally realized what it was I was running from.”
She bowed her head, looking at the floor, because she couldn’t bear to look at Twilight as she asked her this next part. “I have to know Twi... when you started.. ya know, flying with me and the date and everything... was that you? Or was that Nightshade just setting you up to use against me?”
She waited for a response. The seconds of silence dragged on into what felt like eternity. She felt her heart slowly break as the silence continued. So that was it then. Everything had just been a ploy by a madmare.
A hoof touched the bottom of her muzzle, lifting her head up to stare into the tear filled eyes of the unicorn she had fallen for. “Dashie,” Twilight said, and Rainbow felt her body shiver at the nickname. “Dashie, I love you. I love flying with you. I love just talking with you, about magic or flying or how bad the hay fries are at that one restaurant. That had nothing to do with Nightshade. That was me falling in love with the most amazing mare I ever met.”
Having said that, Twilight leaned forward and kissed her. Her kiss wasn’t angry, it wasn’t sad, and it wasn’t fierce. It was loving, it was like being wrapped in a comforting blanket on a stormy night. In that one kiss, Rainbow could feel all that Twilight felt for her, and it both terrified her and made her heart soar.
Twilight pulled away, staring into Rainbow’s eyes, searching for something. And in the first time in a week, Rainbow felt a real smile bloom across her face. She leapt at Twilight again, knocking them both to the floor even as she wrapped her forelegs around her neck. This time it was Rainbow who started the kiss, and she filled it with her love, with her passion for the beautiful unicorn who had literally driven herself insane just to meet Rainbow’s selfish whim. She kissed her with the promise of love, the promise of devotion, and all the promises of the future.
She pulled away, looking down at the unicorn who was also smiling. They were crying again, but these tears were alright. These were tears of happiness, and that made them cool in her book. “Twi,” She said, nuzzling against the unicorn’s neck, “I love you too.”
MDWvsPN
In a darkened room somewhere, a pony covered in shadows stared at a newspaper sitting on a table, a small beam of light from a dim bulb hanging by a chain casting just enough light to read the headline.
“Professor Nightshade defeated, Ponyville saved by Mare Do Well...huh...” The gruff voice spoke. The pony’s face spread into a smile, as a green furred hoof slammed into the table, breaking it.
“Just wait till they get a load of me.” He said, before his cackling laughter filled the room.
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To quote a certain pegasus:
"YEAH!"
I loved this, really adorable and just the right amount of Drama.
I can understand being done with a story but I will be sad to see this world go, the idea of a little comic book madness just makes me giggle inside.
In the end though thank you for all your hard work.
That ending... Oh please tell me you've got a sequel in mind...
~Skeeter The Lurker
So you give us a sequel bait ending and then say 'oh, I might not do a sequel'? That's mean. Downright cruel, even!
Thank you for your amazing story, it was not especially a long ride, but it was funny, sad, and interesting will it last. I understand that maybe you won't do a sequel, but I hope that one day you will continue this story, only because this universe have a lot of potential. The characters were also really good, and I hope that in the show we will see a villain like Professor Nightshade, even if I'm almost sure that it won't happen
.
That was all kinds of great. Great humor, great overall plot, great writing, ectetera. Here's hopin you snatch the win on the Mare-do-well Contest, and even if you don't you created something awesome here
*Set's up sequel*
*Says 'There probably won't be a sequel'*
Well, you're saying 'no', but you're doing 'yes'.
Anyway, BRILLIANT! Couldn't have come up with a better ending. This story ended when it should, and really, if ya wanted to continue it, you'd have had to have gone for a new arc/story.
2572923
Heh, I actually thought of putting an ominous "To be continued?" tag at the end, but decided against it. Even with the current ending, the story can stand alone. But like I said, it also keeps it open to the possibility of a sequel, which is something I wasn't even considering when I started writing this story
2572819>>2572781>>2572722
While I don't have a sequel in mind just yet, I did write the ending with the intent to keep this world open for a possible sequel. Or to keep it open for anyone else who wants to muck about in it.
Like I said, I'm not against making a sequel, I just have to have to find a new story I'd want to tell.
2572935 Professor Nightshade and Mare-Do-Well teamup, perhaps?
2572990
Perhaps, if an alternate Professor Nightshade traveled from Equestria-2, the universe where Mare Do Wrong and the Elements of Disharmony rule Equestria with an iron hoof, to Equestria-616, where our heroes reside.
That was AWESOME!
Such i good story and im a little sad to see it end.
But i will be looking forward to more of your work.
Keep it up!
That was fun. Which is all I ever ask from a fic.
There's never enough fun being made, but now there's a bit more.
Normally I don't like TwiDash, but this was great.
Who is the sequel hook villain supposed to be? My first thoughts are the Riddler and the Green Goblin.
Also, i got a strange idea for what the sequel could be. It would involve this new villain, pony version of Riddler because the idea of Twi facing off against him is too good to pass up, coming to attack Ponyville. Dash cannot defeat him alone, so Twi has to retake the mantle of Nightshade, now reformed, to do battle with this new villain.
2578331
Honestly, I hadn't given too much thought into who the villain at the end is. Like I said, it was more meant as a dynamic ending, with the possibility of a sequel in the future.
I'd have to regrettably say that I don't think I could pull off a ponified Riddler very well. I had meant for Nightshade to actually leave a series of riddles during the Library caper, but most of what I tried just sounded silly or too forced.
If anything, I'd imagine the next villain to be more of a Ra's Al Ghul type. The type that would stay mainly in the shadows, having other ponies do his work, while he directs some master plan that is hard to see until the end.
As for reforming Professor Nightshade... well now, we'll just have to wait and see
2578419
I can see how the Riddler would be hard to properly write, but green Ra's? And reforming Nightshade wouldn't be too hard. Either it is now just a disguise for Twi, or we get drama because the personality still has some remnants. Either way would work for me. Oh, well, I just hope that you do get around to writing a sequel sometime.
2578464
Actually green is the color I most often associate with Ra's Al Ghul. Every time I've ever seen him in the comics, he's typically wearing green clothing, like a cloak or vest. Or my memory is way off, it's hard to say with me sometimes
2578553
Really? I always thought a ponified Ra's would be a black Pegasus with silver mane or a zebra.
Edit: I did some research on Ra's, turns out he does wear green a lot; I never knew that. I now think that the Equestrian Ra's al Ghul should be a zebra wearing a green cloak.
Awesome, awesome
I'm kinda disappointed I didn't have the opportunity to read it all as it came out, instead it's already two days old.
I am NOT disappointed I read it though! That was a cute, adorkable little comic adventure.
If you do make a sequel, I'm all for it.
Quibbles first: You relied too heavily on referential humor, and made like thirty mistakes regarding the difference between "she" and "her".
But: That was fantastic. It was brilliant. The dynamic between Dash and Twilight is executed flawlessly, and you even added a surprisingly deep split personality thing with Twishade (Nightlight? Actually, Nightlight.) I was not expecting that in what is ostensibly a parody of silver age comics. The entire climax is going to stick with me for a while, it hit the "mental clash between hero and villain" mark perfectly. This poked fun at the genre at the same time as being an incredible work within it.
I shed a single tear upon seeing your lack of plans to continue the story. You have so much potential here. As vader10001 mentioned, the very concept of Nightlight trying to help Dash while struggling to keep her darker side in balance enough to be effective but not dangerous seems like it would write itself, and would be awesome. I'm also trying to figure out exactly what Pinkie knew the whole time, and how. There is plenty to explore in a sequel, and I'd love to see where you went with it, is what I'm trying to say.
But whatever you decide to do, know that this story was certainly appreciated (and favorited). Best of luck with the contest, and with anything you write in the future.
This.
On a whim I did a reread of this ('cause, y'know, productivity's for suckers).
killo, buddy, now more than ever I demand you write a sequel to this. I don't really care if it's for Blundy's latest contest, but I will love you forever if you do something.
I had almost forgotten how fun this was to read, and how much I loved the blossoming romance between Twilight and Rainbow. I still don't know how my entry way back when beat this.
2578419
I thought the Riddler's riddles were supposed to be nonsensical batlogic?
Wow. Just reading this for the first time... Holy fucking shit. This was fantastic. There were times when I thought "What? That's just bad writing..." And then I noticed EACH TIME it was done as a satire on a specific element of comic writing, or noire style pulp fiction, and I was just SO HAPPY. Just... Wow. This was a fucking wild ride. Like, I picked this up tonight as an idle thought. "I'm going to sleep, might as well start a new fic that I can read over the next week or so." That's how I normally read the fics on this website. A chapter or two as I lay in bed falling asleep. But this? No way. I couldn't stop. It's been a good while since I hit a TwiDash that did that to me. No, wait, it's been a while since any fic did that to me. Last time I stayed up all night to finish a fic I had just started was the winter sequel to Past Sins.
Just, fuck man. This was amazing. You got me rambling now, though that might just be me being exhausted. Have an up vote, favorite, and follow. You're fucking awesome.
Yep, gave it a like and put it where my favs are. brilliant and cute! oh, and epic!
Omnia
Vincit
Amor
This was fantastic, I loved every minute of it, and all the references just made it so much better.
