The Masked Accuser

by Psyga315

Loyalty/last roundup

Twilight’s eyes slowly opened up as she felt her body being restrained. She tried to open her mouth, but even her jaw as shut tight.

“I’m so sorry about this… I really am…” Twilight could hear ringing in her ears, but she could definitely discern the voice of Mindy Reed.

“Mmmmmph…” Twilight murmured.

“I can’t let the truth from coming out. Not when I’ve come this far…” Mindy said. Her eyes began to open more and she saw Rarity in front of her, knocked out and tied up onto a couch.

“MMMMPH!” Twilight’s eyes widened as she tried to get out of the chair that she was tied to.

“Don’t worry. She’s breathing. I’m only gonna hold you here until Mare Do Well comes back and wipe your minds.” She said. Twilight’s horn began to glow as her gag was taken off.

“Why? Why did you lie about Coal’s parents being killed!?” Twilight asked. Mindy’s horn glowed cyan and tried to put the gag back, but Twilight’s magic over powered hers. Suddenly, her horn overheated and gave a small blast, knocking Mindy back to the couch and waking up Rarity in the process. Rarity proceeded to scream, though she had been muffled. Mindy glared at Rarity and levitated the closest thing to her: a pillow.

She then laid the pillow over Rarity’s head and shoved it right onto her face, furthering her muffledness. As soon as Twilight saw what was happening to Rarity, her horn glowed as Mindy was thrown off of Rarity and right into a wall where she crashed against it. A picture frame fell onto the ground and the glass cracked.

Using the knocked out Mindy to her advantage, Twilight untied both herself and Rarity. As the two got off of their seats, they went forward to Mindy…

“Alright, you’re in a whole world of trou-” Twilight stopped as soon as she heard Mindy’s sobbing. She inspected the broken picture closer…

It was a picture of her family. Her sister, her brother-in-law, and their child, Coal. She backed away a bit and winced. She could almost see herself and her own brother in the picture, along with her new in-law.

“I… I wasn’t lying when I said Coal’s my nephew…” She trembled. “They… They didn’t die in the attack… They… They died in an avalanche. Coal survived and was sent to Manehatten’s orphanage… The place was…” She shuddered. “It was so awful! I had to take him from that place.”

“Why then? Why did you make Coal say his parents died in the attack?” Twilight asked.

“Because… Because…” Mindy stood up. “Because somepony needed to know that there had been damage. That you can’t just ignore what had happened and neglect the injured. What was Celestia’s first thoughts when the Changelings were defeated? Were they to immediately survey the area? Take in the injured? Any of that?” She asked. Twilight shook her head.

“N-no… She just said we had a real wedding to prepare.” Twilight said.

“Exactly. We had no time to heal from our wounds. We were expected to dress up in our best outfit and just go to another wedding, expecting it to not have a giant bug invasion at the end of it. No ‘all clear’, no ‘everything will be okay’. None of that. Celestia barely gave a speech regarding how bravely we fought. I bet there were casualties, but Celestia is too much of a coward to acknow-” That’s when Twilight shoved her down with her magic.

“Not another word!” Twilight said.

“Y-you still trust her? Even after she neglected her people? After all that tight security… And how it was all for naught… They were asking questions, Twilight. ‘What was going through Celestia’s head?’ ‘Is she crazy to let this wedding go on even with all this security?’, ‘Were the Elements even informed of this threat?’. After the invasion, most of us were just doubting Celestia. We were ready to attack Cadance if she were sing about her day going so swell.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “We couldn’t trust anyone after the wedding… Not even ourselves…” Mindy began to let out some tears.

---

Several Unicorns began to fling magic missiles at each other while some Pegasi were delivering flying body slams onto each other. Meanwhile, Mindy and Coal were cowering by a devastated building, hiding behind some hardened sludge made from the invasion.

“Mommy… I’m scared…” Coal whimpered.

“Don’t worry, everything will be… Everything will… be…” Mindy wept. Her body shook as she could only hear the carnage around her. Suddenly, there was a bright purple blast of light. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Mindy looked up and saw a masked mare standing on a roof.

“My fellow ponies! I just casted a spell that would dispel any disguises the Changelings had put up. You all are not Changelings. Stop this infighting this instant.” Mare Do Well said. The ponies began to look at each other and all sighed in relief. Save for one.

“Where have you been…?” Mindy muttered. She then stood up. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” Mindy shouted.

“… I’m here now.” Mare Do Well softly said.

“And where were you a couple of hours ago? That Changeling dispelling thing could have saved us a lot of trouble!” Mindy said.

“…” Mare Do Well sighed. “I had placed too much faith in Celestia when I should have doubted her… She gambled with Equestria’s safety one time too many. Who here thinks that Cadance or Twilight would make a better princess than her?” She asked. As if it was instantaneous, more than twelve dozen ponies nodded. “Nightmare Moon, Discord, now the Changelings… Sure, their reigns were brief, but the next one might not be. Tell me, do you all wish for another age of Discord or a world of endless night?!” Mare Do Well asked. All of the ponies shouted:

“NO!” To which Mare Do Well said:

“Then join my cause in overthrowing her…” She said. She then turned to Mindy and teleported straight to her, grabbed her, and then teleported her to the place where the Elements of Harmony were stored.

“I need a voice strong enough to convince those who might not wish to replace Celestia with a more competent princess. A crying child will be strong enough...” Mare Do Well looked over to Coal.

“No… Don’t you hurt him!” Mindy shouted.

“I won’t hurt him… You will. Your talent is to read minds, correct?” She asked.

“Y-yes…” She said.

“I shall amplify it then…” Her horn glowed, soon, Mindy’s glowed the same purple color. “Read Coal’s mind and then give him a memory. His parents dying to the Changelings… That should be enough to get those who are hesitant to take a stand.” Soon, Mindy’s horn began to glow.

“I… I don’t want to…” Mindy whimpered.

“DO YOU WANT EQUESTRIA TO FALL!?” Mare Do Well shouted. Coal began to cry.

“Mommy...” Mindy could only look at the child and shed some tears as well.

“… No.” She then shot a beam into Coal’s mind. Suddenly, Coal could see his parents in front of him, before Changelings attacked and feasted upon them. Blood spouted everywhere and all Coal could remember were the bloodstained fangs of the Changelings. Coal began to scream as Mindy sobbed uncontrollably. “Stop it! S-stop!”

“Finish it! Equestria needs this!” Mare Do Well said. Mindy shed one last tear before her horn flashed. Coal fell down unconsciously as Mindy went to him. “You’re doing Equestria a proud service for this…” He said.

“You… You’re a monster…” Mindy whimpered.

“In order to combat evil, one must be evil…” Mare Do Well said. She then offered her a hoof. “Come, our revolution awaits us…” She said.

---

“T-that’s horrible!” Twilight said.

“I know… But… Mare Do Well wants us to be free from Celestia’s grasps.” Mindy said.

“This isn’t the way though… Celestia has done nothing but good for us.” Twilight said.

“No… She ignored your claims… She stressed both the bride and groom… She could barely defeat the Queen herself!” Mindy said.

“Yes, but if this Mare Do Well is as bad as you say she is, she might be an even worse Princess.” Twilight said.

“But Twilight, Mare Do Well said that she wanted you to be Princess.” Rarity said.

“Celestia said it herself. I’m not ready yet. Mare Do Well knows this. She might just use my inexperience for a later incident as an excuse to overthrow me next. Then she’ll go after the next Princess until she sits in the throne.” Twilight said.

“If you are able to stop her, then you might be a better Princess than Celestia.” Mindy said. Twilight shook her head.

“Believe me when I say I wouldn’t. I don’t want to sound biased, but Celestia has done nothing but kind things to us. And sure, she makes mistakes, but every pony makes mistakes. Don’t condemn her just because she messed up once…” Twilight said.

“… It isn’t just because of that…” Mindy said.

“I know… but take it from Celestia’s point of view. If she took the time to address the wound the Changelings placed on us, then we’ll forever remember what should have been a happy day as a black stain on our lives.” Twilight said.

“It’s… already a black stain. You can’t fix what has been broken! Trust… Sanity… Lives… You can’t fix any of that with a stupid little party!” Mindy said.

“I know… And maybe Celestia knew that too. But what she could fix is our emotions. The invasion was a terrible thing, yes, but isn’t it better to focus on the better things in life?” Twilight asked.

“… Yeah.” She muttered.

“We won. Isn’t that enough of a reason to celebrate?” Twilight asked. Mindy then shook her head and just sobbed.

“No…” Mindy cried. Twilight turned to Rarity.

“Where are the others?”

“You know where the Elements are? Mare Do Well is holding them up in there.” Rarity said.

“I’m going. Rarity, tend to Mindy.” Twilight then ran off as Rarity patted Mindy on the back.

---

Rainbow Dash glared at the mysterious Mare Do Well. She gritted her teeth.

“Take off that mask, you don’t need it.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I prefer my anonymity. An… Anon-a-miss, if you prefer.” Mare Do Well chuckled. Rainbow Dash then tackled Mare Do Well, glaring at her as she laid on top.

“Stop with the jokes and show your bucking face! What? If I take it off, will you die or something?” She asked.

“It would be extremely shocking…” Mare Do Well said.

“You’re a big mare.” Rainbow Dash said.

“For you.” Mare Do Well said. She then fired a blast at Rainbow Dash, knocking her onto her back before she teleported and got on top of her. “Now then… Let’s go through your moments… I saved the best for last…” Mare Do Well dragged over the Element of Loyalty with her magic. Unlike the other Elements, the Element of Loyalty lacked a bright red, but rather a full on blackish gray color to its lightning bolt gem.

“W-what the!?” Rainbow Dash could only stutter.

“The Element of Loyalty is by far the dimmest of all the Elements save for Magic, for its wielder acted counter to what Loyalty is all about.” Mare Do Well said. She fastened the Element onto Rainbow Dash’s neck. “I have a long list of crimes that need to be listened. Shall I begin?” Mare Do Well asked.

---

Twilight ran outside of the house over to Blitzkrieg, who was standing outside as if listening to something.

“Blitzkrieg!” Twilight’s shout caused Blitzkrieg to shake his head and look at Twilight.

“Twilight, what is it?” Blitzkrieg asked.

“Mare Do Well! She has my friends trapped in the Chamber of the Elements!” She then got onto Blitzkrieg’s back. “Hurry! Let’s go!” Twilight shouted.

“A-alright!” Blitzkrieg shouted as he flew upwards into the sky, struggling to keep Twilight on him.

---

“Let’s start with something simple. You remember the cake incident, right?” Mare Do Well said.

“Wow, you’re not gonna live that one down, aren’t ya?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I’m more upset with the implications, rather than the full on context. You betrayed the trust of your friends by lying about not eating the cake.” Mare Do Well said.

“Blah, blah, blah, look, if you’re gonna whine about that, at least bring up how Twilight scolded Pinkie for jumping to conclusions without gathering evidence, then proceeded to call Cadance evil without getting proof.” Rainbow Dash said. Mare Do Well took the back of her hoof and slammed it across Rainbow Dash’s face.

“You speak when spoken to, maggot!” Mare Do Well shouted. “And how about that time you wetted those poor kids with a raincloud out of spite.” Rainbow Dash just looked to Mare Do Well and spat a tooth into her eye, causing her to back away as she tried to get the bloody tooth out off her face.

“Wow, you’re being childish! ‘Oooooh, they eat cake and soak kids! We must overthrow Celestia and put my big fat flank into the throne pronto!’ That’s what you’re sounding like right now!” Rainbow Dash got up.

“I knew you’d be stubborn…” Mare Do Well sighed.

“Well, you wanna hear a real scolding?! You’re unable to let go of petty transgressions and believe them to be the most unforgiveable sin in all of Equestria! So what if I got fooled by the Changelings? So what if I ate a piece of cake and lied about it? So what if I poured some rain all over some kids just because they made me look bad?” That’s when Rainbow Dash stopped.

“… Now you see the truth. You followed a pony you barely met just to further your own fame with the Sonic Rainboom. You ate a piece of cake because you wanted to eat it. And you defended your pride in a very petty way. I would say you’re loyal to yourself, but if that were the case, the Element would have glowed by now. No. It’s Loyalty towards your friends. When you chose them over joining the Shadowbolts, that was true Loyalty.” Mare Do Well said. Rainbow Dash had no retort. No sass. She merely drooped there and looked at Mare Do Well.

“Discord managed to pull a fast one on you by making you choose between two things you were very loyal to. Believe me when I say it was not an easy choice.” Mare Do Well walked towards Rainbow Dash and wiped the blood off the Pegasus’ mouth with her cape. “But then there was that time in Dodge. You left Laughter and Generosity to rot in the desert, even after Honesty stopped running away and agreed to go home with you.” She said.

All Rainbow Dash could do was slump to the ground as her eyes watered up. Mare Do Well merely stroked Rainbow Dash’s back.

“You understand now, do you? You, out of every other pony in your herd, are able to fully grasp your flaw. It’s your pride. It had always been your pride. I chose to hide myself with this costume because I knew it was something important to you and your friends. It was a time when your friends all decided to personally betray you.” Mare Do Well said. Memories began to fill in Rainbow Dash’s head of the time she was a hero of Ponyville and how her friends posed as her. The same emotions also clouded her.

However, now with the new mindset, she began to think about it…

“But a real hero doesn’t brag...”

Rainbow Dash then got up.

“Betray me? No. They just wanted me to swallow my pride… It’s… It’s my biggest flaw, yes. Yes, what they did wasn’t cool, but it’s not like trying to tell me to stop being such a glory hog would fix anything. I’m stubborn, remember?” Rainbow Dash booped her nose right to Mare Do Well’s nose. “And I learned a valuable lesson… One I should have taken to heart when I had the chance. You know what I’m proud of right now? The fact that I have friends who are willing to back me up and knock me down if I get on my high horse.”

Mare Do Well looked to Rainbow Dash as she backed away.

“You think that will change anything? You’re just going to forget! Just like how you forgot to take Twilight’s concerns seriously!” Mare Do Well said.

“So I’ll just have to learn again. And again. And again!” Rainbow Dash trotted towards Mare Do Well. “Because that’s the best part about having friends! They’ll be there to remind you when you’re bucking up!” Her wings began to pop up. “And right now, I’m about to show you how loyal to them I can be!” Rainbow Dash then leaped towards Mare Do Well.

---

Twilight Sparkle and Blitzkrieg flew towards the Chamber, when suddenly, a window was smashed as Rainbow Dash flew out of it, carrying Mare Do Well.

“What the!?” Twilight shouted. A couple of ponies stopped and gasped, pointing to the two in mid-air. Rainbow Dash pushed Mare Do Well off of her as the latter used her magic to levitate.

“Loyal? HAH! Your Element still isn’t glowing! You’re just trying to get me off your back!” Mare Do Well said.

“Oh shut up! I think it’s obvious that it’s not the Element that makes me loyal! I am Loyalty!” She shouted as she flew towards Mare Do Well. Mare Do Well could see air currents forming around Rainbow Dash, as if they were trying to slow her down. Mare Do Well prepared for the worst as the currents were blown away, creating a rainbow colored shockwave as Rainbow Dash soared towards Mare Do Well at blinding speeds.

Mare Do Well tried to block, but she was severely socked in the head countless times as Rainbow Dash took her all the way to the nearest wall and crashed her into it, making a crater.

“Now… Let’s see who’s behind the mask!” Rainbow Dash then pulled the mask off of Mare Do Well. Her eyes then shrunk. “W-wait, what!?” She gasped. Mare Do Well chuckled.

“Told you it’d be extremely shocking.” With that, Mare Do Well fired a point blank blast in Rainbow Dash’s chest, charring her fur as she fell to the ground.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried out as Blitzkrieg flew off, knocking Twilight off of him. Mare Do Well got out of the crater and teleported to about five meters from Rainbow Dash. She slowly went towards her before Blitzkrieg slammed down and landed in front of Mare Do Well.

“Enough!” Blitzkrieg shouted. Mare Do Well paused and saw Blitzkrieg. She also saw Rainbow Dash breathing, but also noticed that, above her chest, was the Element of Loyalty, now blinking red. Her eyes shifted to Blitzkrieg.

“So… That’s why… What are you doing here?” Mare Do Well asked.

“These ponies don’t need to be hurt! They admit that they were fooled! Isn’t that enough?” Blitzkrieg asked.

“Rainbow Dash abandoned her friend for some jerk she never met! That is the complete opposite of Loyalty! You dare defend her!?” She stepped towards Blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg stiffened up and extended a wing in front of Rainbow Dash.

“Why? Why are you torturing them?” Blitzkrieg asked.

“They failed to save Equestria. It was only by a mere stroke of luck that they won. The next time they won’t be so lucky! I’m making sure that never happens again!” Mare Do Well said.

“By staging a coup?” Blitzkrieg asked.

“If I must! Celestia had neglected her people for far too long! We must take over now! We have protected Equestria since the Age of Discord and I’m not gonna let some irresponsible teens and their foolish princess toss Equestria’s future into the bin!” Mare Do Well said. She then chuckled. “But of course, it’s fitting how you blindly follow Celestia. After all… It does fit your name.” Mare Do Well then fired at Rainbow Dash. Blitzkrieg jumped in front of Rainbow Dash and was hit in the back.

“Gaaaah!” Blitzkrieg cried out. His body then began to glow red. Rainbow Dash woke up only to see Blitzkrieg look to her, smile, and then fade away into a ball of red light before flying into the Element of Loyalty. As it entered, it glowed brightly. Twilight Sparkle finally arrived to Rainbow Dash’s side and looked to Mare Do Well, only to drop her jaw.

It was herself. The exact same build, the exact same hair, even the same Cutie Mark… Except her coat was more magenta than purple, the same being the case for her eyes. Mare Do Well also had the same base color of hair, a dark blue bordering on black, but her highlights were instead a bright blue and gold.

“W-who are you?!” Twilight asked. “Are you a-” Mare Do Well shook her head.

“No… I am… How do I best put this? Ah yes, I am your bitterness personified. I am Equestria’s last line of defense. I’m pretty sure you could piece this together, but I forgive you if you’re too dumb to recognize me… I am Magic incarnate.” She said.

“Magic? Like…” Twilight’s eyes then widened. “Like the Element of Magic?!” She asked.

“In the flesh…” Magic smiled. She then trotted over to Twilight. “So… Will you accept being the Princess of Equestria and guide us through to protect the realm from harm?” Magic asked. Twilight shook her head.

“N-no! Why would you even betray Celestia like this!? She used to be your Bearer too, you know!” Twilight said.

“Used to be. Now she’s just a former shell of who she once was, escaping from the burden of being a ruler through silly games and dances. You, on the other hand, are perfect to protecting Equestria. You saved it three times already…” Magic said.

“No! I know what you did to Coal!” Twilight said as several ponies began to gather. “You forced his aunt to manipulate his memory and make it look like the Changelings killed his parents so you could garner sympathy!” Twilight said. The ponies began to murmur amongst themselves, especially after looking at Magic. Magic glared at Twilight, then teleported to her.

“I had so much faith in you… You dare doubt me? Very well. Fillies and gentlecolts! I shall now preform the final judgement on the Element Bearers!” Magic said as her horn glowed hot pink. The two were surrounded in a bubble, and then suddenly…

POP!

The two vanished as the bubble popped.

Comments

[garfan]

why would the magic of a species who's power lies in friendship incarnate out of bitterness?

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Bwuh?! Well... that's a shock...

[ChaosOverlord65]

It's weird. I kinda guessed that Mare-Do-Well was a physical incarnation of the Element of Magic. I'm surprised that I was right.

[Rune Caster the First]

Mare Do Well is the Element of Magic?! Yes, my suspicions were correct! After all, who would know Twilight's inner thoughts better than the Element she is bonded with.

Twilight will have to watch out because she's up against her own Element now.

I wonder whether if Magic will try to possess Twilight, now that it's plan has been revealed.

[Wilddog88]

Knew it.

[TheManOfMadness]

7553676 My guess: she's playing devil's advocate. She's pointing out the flaws and mistakes of each pony so that they can grow into better ponies and better element bearers. Even Celestia will learn to be better ruler from this experience. If achieving these goals means she has to act like a bitter villain, so be it.

[LinkGirl]

Again another story I tried to hold out for more chapters to show but I just couldn't help myself and now I am left waiting for an epic chapter. Thank you for the updates and great story. I really, really can't wait for the next chapter

[The Fiery Phoenix]

whens the next chapter?

[Waspinator331]

All I want is for this story to have a happy ending.

[Tali_The_Lamia]

I bucking love how you written this.

Many people will refuse it, but to become a hero, you have to be a villain and show everyone their flaws.

[Black Kyurem]

Twilight had somehow created a physical manifestation of her dark side and thoughts. The plot thickens...

[Black Kyurem]

8103303 You must not like Horror stories.

[marinus18]

8802226
I never claimed that. I claimed that Twilight wasn't actually correct in her accusations and did make quite a mistake herself.
She did believe it was Cadance. Just that Cadance would lead her brother to a bad future.

[Tali_The_Lamia]

As much as I love twilight, her list is probably even bigger then Rainbows.

[Moon_Dew]

Get on with it, Psyga315. It's been over 2 years already!

[Psyga315]

9074573
Okay.

{proceeds to work on the final chapter}

[Moon_Dew]

9075074

I'm really hoping this isn't sarcasm. Either way, I look forward to the next chapter.