My Little Investigations: Marehunter

by Metool Bard

Turnabout Friendship (M)

December 14, 5:17 PM
Canterlot Castle
Front Gate
Twilight's POV
***

As we walked through the halls of the castle, I could see that word traveled fast about Mare-Do-Well's impostor being on the loose. Guardsponies were galloping left and right, searching for the culprit or escorting civilians to safe haven. I even spotted some of the Wonderbolts helping out in the effort, as well as Celestia and Luna. Thankfully, nopony crashed into us during the confusion.

As soon as we stepped outside, Mare-Do-Well wrenched herself out of my grip and broke into a run. When I saw what she was running towards, I decided not to stop her. Just as the report stated, two of the three investigation teams were waiting outside. Before I could greet them myself, Mare-Do-Well threw her forelegs around Sparkler and hugged her.

"Ms. Sparkler. I-I'm so glad you're okay," Mare-Do-Well whimpered.

Sparkler opened her mouth to respond, but Mare-Do-Well had already released her and flew up to Spitfire, giving her the same treatment.

"And you, Ms. Spitfire. I-I never should've doubted you for a second," Mare-Do-Well continued.

Spitfire stared blankly at Mare-Do-Well. "D-do I know you?"

Okay, this is getting awkward fast. I was about to interject, but the familiar clip-clopping of hooves interrupted me. Looking up, I saw that it was Octavia's group running up from the train station. Well, looks like the gang's all here.

"S-sorry we're *gasp* late," Octavia said breathlessly. "W-we just got off the train, and— oopha!"

Before Octavia could finish her thought, Mare-Do-Well dived down and tackled her into yet another hug.

"And you're safe as well, Ms. Melody. Y-you have no idea how happy that makes me," Mare-Do-Well sobbed.

"Yay, hug party!" Pinkie cheered, wrapping her own forelegs around Mare-Do-Well and Octavia. She then perked up. "Wait, what are we hugging about again?"

"I, think I should explain," I said, clearing my throat. "Girls, this here is the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well."

There was a pregnant pause as everypony stared at me and Mare-Do-Well in stunned silence. Sparkler was the first to speak.

"Uh, I can't help but feel like we're missing something important here," she said, rubbing the side of her head.

"Agreed, darling," Rarity concurred, giving Mare-Do-Well a once-over. "I mean, if this is supposed to be Mare-Do-Well, where's her magnificent costume?"

"The impostor has it," I sighed. "Listen, everypony. We have a lot of ground to cover and not much time to cover it. Did you guys managed to find anything?"

Rainbow Dash's face darkened. "Long story short, the whole thing was a setup. Somepony lured us out to those locations just so that they could try and kill us."

My jaw dropped. I-I have no words for how horrible this is. No wonder Mare-Do-Well is acting so emotional right now.

"And, this happened to all of you?" I asked.

"'Fraid so, sugarcube," said Applejack, obscuring her eyes with her stetson.

"It was, scary," Fluttershy mumbled.

I looked over at Mare-Do-Well. "Do you know what all this is about?"

Mare-Do-Well nodded and sniffled. "Y-yes. Th-the whole thing was a plan set in motion by Nightmare-Do-Vile."

Spike blinked. "Wait, who?"

"She was another ponunculus created by Gypsy Moth," Spitfire explained. "She was supposed to go find Mare-Do-Well and 'fix' her so that she wouldn't disobey her master. She was created using dark magic, but as a consequence, she was too powerful. So, she was locked in stasis and dumped off somewhere."

"And I think I know where," said Sparkler, brushing the underside of her nose. "Ten days ago, Dodger Dragonvest and some punk named Sojobo fought each other in the Mewlun Mountains. They accidentally opened this capsule which contained a Mare-Do-Well look-alike. That must've been Nightmare-Do-Vile."

Blaze furrowed her brow. "I'm just guessing here, but I think that once she was freed, she payed a visit to Kierra and her former mistress Gypsy Moth in order to set her trap in the Griffon Kingdom. She messed with Kierra's head and coerced Gypsy Moth into committing murder."

"That's not all she did," said Octavia darkly. "Four days ago, she lured Mare-Do-Well to Centrot Park and ambushed her. Sapphire Shores caught her in the act, but she was spotted. That in turn made her the bait they used in the trap meant for me."

"And let's not forget about that meanie Dodger Dragonvest," Derpy huffed. "He broke a lot of the cat people's laws and destroyed our airship just so that he could get revenge against Ammy. He said that's what the fake Mare-Do-Well promised him if he helped her."

I nodded thoughtfully. "Mare-Do-Well, is all this true?"

Mare-Do-Well hung her head and sighed. "It is. I honestly didn't know where Nightmare-Do-Vile and her cronies came from, but I do know this. Her whole plan was for me to renounce friendship."

Vinyl winced. "Yeesh. Now that's Grade A evil."

"You're telling me," said Pinkie, shivering all over. "I'm getting the shudders just thinking about it. Brrr~."

"Wait, I don't get it," said Shining Armor, knitting his brow. "How was her plan designed to make you renounce friendship?"

"By using the friendships I made during my time as a hero to destroy you all," said Mare-Do-Well, biting her lip. "A-at least, that's how she put it."

"And she kept you imprisoned in the crystal mines?" I inquired.

Mare-Do-Well shook her head as more tears welled up in her eyes. "I-It was agony. She told me that all of you were as good as dead, and it was because of friendship."

"And you believed her?" asked Spitfire, raising an eyebrow.

Mare-Do-Well shook her head again. "I-I had no choice. It was either that or she'd batter my core and drain more of my blood."

Oh my goodness. Th-that's just... I-I don't know. I'm really at a loss for words right now, and judging by the look on everypony else's faces, I'm not the only one. I mean, poor Mare-Do-Well. Nopony should have to go through something like that; least of all her.

"S-so, when we found you, you weren't speaking because you had lost all hope?" I asked.

Mare-Do-Well nodded. "I'm sorry, Princess Twilight. I-I should've been stronger."

"Nopony is invincible, Ms. Mare-Do-Well," said an unfamiliar Wonderbolt. "In fact, I believe even the most disciplined of ponies would have trouble enduring what you had to endure."

"Commander Misty Fly's right," said Rainbow Dash, pounding her hooves and cracking her neck. "And that's why we're gonna find this Nightmare-Do-Vile jerk and make her pay!"

No sooner had that declaration left Rainbow Dash's lips than an eerie melody echoed all around us. Before anypony could react, there was a burst of black, starry smoke right in front of us. From the smoke, Nightmare-Do-Vile stepped forward.

"Well well well. Speak of the she-demon, and she doth appear," Vinyl spat bitterly.

Nightmare-Do-Vile paid her no mind. Instead, she walked over to Mare-Do-Well, who was staring back at her.

"It appears my demonstration was, ineffective," Nightmare-Do-Vile mused. "I'll have to resort to more drastic means in order to repair you, defect."

"That's not gonna happen, you identity thief!" Pinkie proclaimed. "We're gonna stop you!"

Nightmare-Do-Vile tilted her head. "Is that right? You all wish to obstruct me?"

"Every last one of us," I said firmly, spreading my wings. "We won't let you hurt Mare-Do-Well anymore."

Nightmare-Do-Vile's eyes changed from blue to red as she tossed back her cape, reveling her own ponunculus core. It was a lot more ornate than Mare-Do-Well's, and the liquid inside was pitch black. There also appeared to be some sort of ceramic hand enveloping the core. The hand had three digits, two of which were wrapped around the vial.

"I advise against this foolishness," she said darkly. "Step aside or be eradicated."

"Um, are those our only choices?" asked Blaze. "'Cause I think we're gonna go with option three. Kicking your flank!"

Nightmare-Do-Vile snorted. "Then you leave me no choice but to show you my full power. Disengaging alicorn limiters now."

As soon as she said this, one of the digits wrapped around her core slowly retreated. It didn't take me long to connect the dots. This is why Nightmare-Do-Vile doesn't have a horn! That ceramic hand must be a device meant to suppress her other traits! But if she's removing them...

"Nightmare-Do-Vile, wait!" I exclaimed. "Y-you can't do that!"

"And why not?" asked Nightmare-Do-Vile.

"Because your core won't be able to handle the magic of all three pony tribes at once!" I cried. "You'd be turning yourself into a ticking time bomb! You'll kill us all!"

Nightmare-Do-Vile shrugged her shoulders. "I fail to see how that's my problem."

I-I couldn't believe my ears. "Wh-what?!"

"My directive is clear," Nightmare-Do-Vile stated. "The defect must be repaired. All obstructions will be eradicated."

With that, the ceramic hand let go of the core completely and dropped to the ground, shattering into a million pieces. Dark light burst from the core, enveloping Nightmare-Do-Vile in a shroud of energy. Through it, I could see her muscle structure getting bulkier and a unicorn horn growing out of her forehead.

"We gotta stop her!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying towards Nightmare-Do-Vile. I quickly grabbed her tail with my magic.

"It's too late, Rainbow Dash!" I hollered. "Her core is already generating a great amount of energy to fuel her transformation! If we attack her now, we could risk setting it off!"

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" Fluttershy panted. "Wh-what do we do?!"

Suddenly, Mare-Do-Well drew herself to full height and spread her wings. "I'll handle this."

I did a double take. "You? What do you mean? You're in no condition to—"

"I'm the one she wants," said Mare-Do-Well, cutting across me. "I can lead her to a place where she won't hurt anypony else."

There was a collective gasp.

"Wh-what are you suggesting?" Octavia whimpered.

Mare-Do-Well heaved a great sigh. "I think you all figured it out."

Sparkler shook her head. "Oh, no. No way, buster. Do you realize what we had to go through just to save your flank?! You can't just throw all that away!"

"I never asked you to save me!" Mare-Do-Well snapped. "I'm supposed to be a hero. This is something I have to do."

Spitfire crossed her forelegs and scowled. "General Firefly once said that there's a fine line between being a martyr and being a fool, Mare-Do-Well. You just sailed right over that line. We can find a way to stop her without getting anyone else killed! There's no need for you to sacrifice yourself!"

"In case you didn't realize, we don't have time to argue!" Mare-Do-Well barked back. "I'm doing this!"

Indeed, she was right. As soon as she said that, Nightmare-Do-Vile's transformation was complete. Bolts of dark magic danced around her body, and her core pulsed in a steady rhythm. Before she could make a move, Mare-Do-Well sprang into the air.

"C'mon, you monster!" she bellowed. "Come and get me!"

With that, she flew off with Nightmare-Do-Vile in hot pursuit. Th-this is wrong. Mare-Do-Well is trying to save us, knowing full well that she might end up dead or worse. I know this is part of her personality, but I can't just let her go. She's my friend, and I'm going to help her.

"Shining, let the Royal Guard know that Nightmare-Do-Vile is outside!" I ordered. "Captain Spitfire, I want the Wonderbolts running some interference for us! The rest of you, be ready for anything and everything!"

Without waiting for any acknowledgements, I took off into the sky and flew after Nightmare-Do-Vile and Mare-Do-Well.

***

It didn't take me long to catch up to them. Then again, they were hard to miss. Nightmare-Do-Vile was launching beam after beam of dark magic from her horn while Mare-Do-Well tried her best to dodge every shot. Even from my vantage point, I could see that Mare-Do-Well wasn't going to last long. She was struggling to fly straight, and Nightmare-Do-Vile's attacks were just too persistent. I knew what I had to do.

In the blink of an eye, I teleported myself right in between the two ponunculi and put up a miniature forcefield. The field shimmered and shuddered as a black beam slammed into it. After a few seconds, the beam was deflected, and I deactivated my shield.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Mare-Do-Well hollered from behind me.

I turned around and smiled. "I'm saving my friend," I replied.

Mare-Do-Well appeared to be all flustered. "B-but that's not right! I-I'm supposed to save you!"

"Look, we don't have time to argue," I said flatly.

Mare-Do-Well opened her mouth to reply, but instead cast her eyes downward. I then turned back to Nightmare-Do-Vile, who was leering at me.

"Get out of my way," she commanded.

"We're not playing your game anymore, Nightmare-Do-Vile," I said. "If you want Mare-Do-Well, you'll have to go through all of us."

Nightmare-Do-Vile sighed. "How foolish. All of you are willing to throw your lives away for this one defect?"

"You're one to talk!" I retorted. "You caused havoc across three nations, endangered all of our lives, and for what? Just to break the spirit of one mare? What sense does that make?!"

Nightmare-Do-Vile's glare intensified. "I cannot disobey my directive. The defect will be repaired."

"Stop calling her that," I growled through gritted teeth. "She is not a defect."

"Then why must she use your precious friendship as a crutch?" Nightmare-Do-Vile countered. "Why is it that no matter what, she always ends up being rescued by those she's trying to protect?"

A sinister chill went up my spine. I've seen this play out before. She's still trying to mess with Mare-Do-Well's head and break her spirit. And the downside is, it seemed to be working. I looked back at Mare-Do-Well, and she was hanging her head in shame. I-I think I get it now. And I know just how to fix this.

"If you think that's what's going on, then you have no idea how the magic of friendship truly works," I proclaimed, looking Nightmare-Do-Vile right in the eye. "Mare-Do-Well can stand on her own just fine. We just stand with her. And she stands with us. Isn't that right, Mare-Do-Well?"

Before Mare-Do-Well could answer, Nightmare-Do-Vile growled, her horn pulsing with energy.

"I tire of this pointless banter," she snarled. "You will all be eradicated!"

In a burst of energy, several things happened at once. The sky became full of black clouds that crackled with electricity. I saw shadowy apparitions slam into the ground, as well as golems made out of gemstones springing from the earth. Each of these threats converged on one of Mare-Do-Well's friends; the clouds went after Spitfire, the shadows surrounded Octavia, and the golems marched towards Sparkler. Looking back up, I saw Mare-Do-Well's head whipping around every which way. It didn't take me long to figure out that this was just another mind game. I flew up to Mare-Do-Well and gripped her shoulders.

"Mare-Do-Well, listen to me," I said firmly. "She's trying to trip you up again. You can't play into her hooves anymore."

Mare-Do-Well's lip quivered. "B-but what am I supposed to do? I-I can't save them all at once."

"You don't have to," I said calmly. "All you have to do is keep your eyes on me."

Mare-Do-Well blinked. "B-but what about—?"

"Don't worry about them. They'll be okay," I assured her. "You have to have faith in them and in me, Mare-Do-Well. Now, do as I ask. Keep your eyes on me and don't look away no matter what. Okay?"

Mare-Do-Well paused for a moment, and then nodded. "O-okay. I'll trust you."

"Good," I said, patting her on the back. "Now, let's finish this."

I turned around just as Nightmare-Do-Vile finished casting her spells. Already, I could see the energy in her core pulsating like a strobe light, desperately trying to keep all the energy inside. I don't know how long we have, but hopefully, I can come up with a plan before it's too late. I'm usually good at that. Once Nightmare-Do-Vile recovered from the spells, she charged at me. I responded by doing the same, preparing a spell of my own.

***
Spitfire's POV
***

"Hey, Sis! Bogeys sighted at twelve o'clock!"

Right away, I saw what Blaze was referring to. That motherbucker Nightmare-Do-Vile had summoned a whole bunch of explosive clouds, and they were heading right for us. So much for running interference for Princess Twilight.

"Mist, how long until those things reach the castle?!" I called out.

"By their current speed, I'm going to say approximately sixty seconds!" Misty Fly responded.

"Heh, that suits me just fine! I'll only need ten!" Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Belay that, private! Those are not ordinary clouds!" I yelled. "We have to take them out without touching them! Wonderbolts, attack formation Fairweather Theta!"

"Um, Ms. Spitfire? I-I don't know that one!" Fluttershy cried.

"Me, neither!" Derpy added.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rainbow Dash smirk. "Don't worry, you guys! Just follow my lead!"

I smiled to myself. That's one of Rainbow Dash's greatest qualities. She's always ready to take charge when the situation calls for it.

"That's the spirit, private!" I hollered. "Alright, Wonderbolts! Let's fly!"

We charged for the exploding clouds before breaking off into wing trios, with Fluttershy and Derpy Hooves serving and Rainbow Dash's wingponies. Each of us took a section of cloud and circled around it as fast as we could, creating several miniature cyclones. The gale force winds did their jobs and broke up the clouds into smaller and smaller fragments until they were nothing but residual magic. As soon as one cluster was eliminated, we moved on to the next one.

"Let's keep it tight, you two!" I yelled, straining my voice over the wind. "We're gonna show this Nightmare-Do-Vile what happens when you mess with the Wonderbolts!"

"Oorah!" Blaze cheered.

"I'm your wing all the way, Spitfire!" Misty Fly responded.

From there, we continued flying from cluster to cluster, dismantling any and all exploding clouds in our way. Though the waves seemed endless, we couldn't back down. After all, we're the Wonderbolts. We don't give up without giving it our all.

***
Octavia's POV
***

Well, this is just ducky. I promised myself I'd never have to use that blasted confidence spell again, but here we are. Then again, terrified is an appropriate reaction to a bunch of shadow creatures after your blood. I don't think running away is going to do much good, either. It didn't exactly help me last time. Okay, here goes everything.

"Hm-hm-hm hm hm hm, hm hm hm,
Hm-hm-hm hm hm hm, hm hm hm..."

As I hummed the tune to myself, I felt the familiar burst of adrenaline course through my veins. When I opened my eyes, one of the shadows was upon me, drawing back an appendage and ready to strike. I responded with a punch. Much to my surprise, I hit something solid. The shadow stumbled back and charged again. I tried my best to keep pace with the thing, and for the most part, I was able to keep up. But then, the others started to surround me from all sides. Blows came at me from every direction, and I of course couldn't block them all. But as long as I still draw breath, I won't let my fear consume me. Still, I don't know how long I can keep this—

"Yee-ha~!"

There was a whoop from above as Applejack came rushing in, kicking one of the shadows right in its, um, area (yes, these things don't seem to have any defined shape, and yet they're still solid. You figure that one out; I'm too busy trying to stay alive to bother). What's more, Pinkie Pie was right by her side, armed with some sort of cannon.

"Don't worry, Octavia! We've got your back!" Pinkie yelled. "Apples stick together, after all!"

That, caught me off-guard for a moment. "Wait, but I'm not an Apple," I said.

"Well, genealogically speaking, you're right!" Pinkie called out, firing a blast of confetti from her cannon and causing several shadows to scatter. "But I know Fiddlesticks is your sister, and she's also an honorary Apple! That means you're also technically an Apple, kinda sorta!"

"Ms. Pie, are you sure this is an appropriate conversation to be having right now?!" I shouted, struggling against another shadow.

"Don't mind her none! She's just bein' Pinkie Pie!" Applejack hollered, smashing another shadow with her hind hooves.

Sheesh, and I thought Vinyl was mental. Well, no use dwelling on it. I still have my hooves full here. No matter how many shadows I punch out of existence, it feels like two more are always ready to take their place. Part of me wants to run away, I'll admit that much. But I've come this far for Mare-Do-Well, and by Celestia, I am not planning on dying today!

***
Amethyst's POV
***

"Hoo, ha! Hot potato, hot potato!"

That was more or less my reaction when those gem statues started launching fireballs at me. And I do mean at me. As in me specifically. Yeah, even though there were plenty of other ponies down here, all they're interested in is killing the jeweler's apprentice. I just get all the luck, don't I?

"Sparkler, darling! Over here!"

I looked up to see Rarity standing with Vinyl Scratch and the Royal Guard. I sprinted right to their side, and Prince Shining Armor summoned a forcefield behind me. The gem statues continued pelting the shield with fireballs, not letting up in the slightest.

"Well, this sucks," Vinyl muttered. "I knew I shouldn't have left my Bass Cannon at home."

"What we need is enough magic power to blast through those guys," said Prince Shining Armor. "Do any of your three know any attacking spells?"

Vinyl shrugged. "'Fraid not."

Rarity sighed. "Fighting's not usually my thing; I'm more into fashion. But that doesn't mean we can't improvise."

Something about that last sentence sparked a memory from our time in the Mewlun Mountains. I smiled.

"You know what? I'm with you on this one, Rarity," I said. "We can take these clowns."

"They don't seem to be *mmph* letting up on the assault, though," Prince Shining Armor grunted as he struggled to maintain the spell. "We need an opening. Holy Lance!"

"Yes, Your Highness?" asked one of the guards.

"You got any ideas?"

Holy Lance squinted at the gem statues. "They seem to be lined up one in front of the other. If we can somehow topple their structure, they should be disoriented."

"Okay, that's cool," said Vinyl with a nod. "Next question. How do we do that?"

Holy Lance clicked his tongue. "Um, yes. Th-that would be the tricky part. We'll need some sort of spell that can—"

He was interrupted by a low growl. We all turned to see that it was coming from Spike's stomach. Rarity and I deadpanned as he blushed.

"S-sorry," Spike said sheepishly. "I-It's just that it's getting close to dinner, and..."

Rarity smacked her forehead. "Spiky-poo, how can you possibly think of food at a time like this?!"

Wait a minute. Hungry dragon, plus gem statues, equals... Bingo!

"Actually, that might not be a bad thing, Rarity," I said. "In fact, I think Spike is just the dragon to save the day!"

"I am?" asked Spike, his cheeks getting redder. "I-I dunno..."

"Hold on, I think Sparkler's onto something!" said Rarity, her expression brightening. "Spike, how would you like to have dinner right now?"

"Um, I'd love to," said Spike. "But, don't we have to— whoa!"

Rarity scooped up Spike with her magic and cradled him in her hooves. She then drew him back and narrowed her eyes.

"Well, there's dinner, Spike!" she proclaimed. "Bon appétit!"

With that, she tossed Spike right into the gem statues. Prince Shining Armor blinked.

"I'm getting the weirdest sense of déjà vu right now," he said.

"I'm getting an idea for my next rock opera," said Vinyl.

I'm getting palpitations, 'cause even though this was my idea, I'm not sure if it's gonna work. But sure enough, in a matter of seconds, one of the statues toppled over, causing the others to fall like dominos. Through all the reflected surfaces, I could see Spike munching away at one of the statues' legs. Heh, all according to plan.

"There's our opening, men!" Holy Lance barked, his horn radiating with magic. "Give them all you got and don't hold back!"

"Right then!" Rarity shouted. "Mind your eyes!"

"And your ears!" Vinyl added.

With that, we all launched our spell of choice at the statues. Holy Lance caused bolts of energy to rain from the sky, while Rarity's horn sparkled like a disco ball, disorienting the statues and throwing their aim off. Vinyl Scratch let loose a deafening bass beat that caused the statues to crumble while Prince Shining Armor blasted the group that was surrounding Spike. As for me, well, I did what I do best. With a few quick swipes of my horn, an entire row of statues were transformed into a bunch of shimmering jewels. Not exactly a conventional method of warfare, but hey. I remember someone once telling me that even the most benign objects can be used as weapons.

"There's still more of them!" Holy Lance roared. "Keep firing! For Canterlot!"

Nopony needed to be told twice. I don't know how long they expect me to keep this up, though. I hope Princess Twilight stops that dock-hole Nightmare-Do-Vile soon...

***
Twilight's POV
***

I figured the best thing to do was to trap Nightmare-Do-Vile in a forcefield. That way, when her core finally detonated, the explosion would be contained by my magic. It's certainly doable. Even though she's an alicorn ponunculus, she's not as powerful as an actual alicorn like myself. I can tell just from deflecting her magical attacks that they don't have as much power behind them. So, I should be able to hold her, no problem.

Well, okay, one problem. She's too fast. Whenever I tried to catch her in my forcefield, she kept dissolving into smoke and teleporting behind me. Of course, I wasn't easy to hit, either. Every spell she threw at me, whether it was from her horn or the magic of the Kurama Tengu, I managed to block with a spell of my own. Back and forth, spell after spell, we fought. All the while, her core kept pulsing away, building up more and more energy. I knew the clock was ticking, but she didn't seem to care. She just wanted me out of the way so that she could hurt Mare-Do-Well unencumbered. Of course, I wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon.

Then, after dodging my spell for the twelfth time (by my count), she appeared right in front of me. Before I could ready a spell, she punched me across the jaw. I staggered in midair, trying to get my bearings. But Nightmare-Do-Vile was not giving me a chance to breathe. She continued to flail her legs at me. I tried to protect myself the best I could, but I could tell I was out of my league. Hoof-to-hoof combat has never been a forte of mine, and even though I'm a better flyer now, I don't know the first thing about fighting in midair. Not even my enhanced Earth Pony strength could prepare me for this onslaught.

Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, Nightmare-Do-Vile vanished again. I was surrounded by sparkling black smoke, and I had no indication of where she was. I kept my guard up, waiting for her to strike at a moment's notice. She might've gotten the better of me with that direct attack, but I'm not going down that easily.

"This is where it ends," Nightmare-Do-Vile's voice echoed all around me. "Now, you will die, Princess of Friendsh—"

"Get away from my friend!"

I heard something swoop past my ear, followed by a thud. I spun around and gasped. Mare-Do-Well had barreled in out of nowhere, and she was striking Nightmare-Do-Vile from above. The strike was enough to break the necklace holding Nightmare-Do-Vile's core, which dropped like a stone. That was just what I needed.

With a sharp dive, I flew towards the falling core as fast as I could. Once in range, I fired my forcefield spell. This time, it hit. The core was successfully encapsulated in an impenetrable magenta aura. And just in time, too. I could see part of the vial break as magical energy forced itself out of its crystal prison. A split second later, there was a yelp of pain.

"This will not end here!" Nightmare-Do-Vile barked. "I-I will repair you, defect!"

I looked up to see Nightmare-Do-Vile writhing in agony while Mare-Do-Well stared back at her.

"I may be in need of repair, but not the kind you're thinking of," Mare-Do-Well stated. "In fact, you're nothing compared to Princess Twilight."

"Incorrect," Nightmare-Do-Vile grunted. "I-I would've eradicated her had it not been for you!"

"Well, good thing I was there to stop you, then," said Mare-Do-Well with a shrug.

Nightmare-Do-Vile howled, and another burst of energy started seeping through her core.

"M-must repair defect!" she stammered, her tone becoming more and more strained. "M-must repair defect!"

She fired a blast of magic from her horn, and it missed Mare-Do-Well by a mile.

"I was wrong to allow myself to be broken by you," Mare-Do-Well said sternly. "I should've had faith in my friends. I should've believed in them no matter how much you hurt me. Because at the end of the day, you're nothing but a heartless machine with outdated instructions. And it's time for you to go."

Nightmare-Do-Vile roared something incoherent and flew at Mare-Do-Well with full force. Mare-Do-Well pressed against her hooves with all her might, using every ounce of strength she had to maintain the standoff.

"Repair defect! Repair defect!" Nightmare-Do-Vile chanted over and over again. "Must obey directive! Repair defe—"

All of a sudden, I felt a tremendous pressure in my horn. Turning away from the fight, I saw the cause. Nightmare-Do-Vile's core had detonated, and all of the trapped energy was pressing against my forcefield, trying to break free. Her screams of unbridled agony rang in my ears as I concentrated on keeping the forcefield intact. Sweat poured down my face, both out of exertion and fear. Hairline fractures decorated the forcefield as the explosion of magical energy persisted. Th-this might've been a bit more powerful than I thought. I-I don't know if I can hold it.

"Cannot, continue. Mission, faaaaaaaillllled..."

With those final words from Nightmare-Do-Vile, the explosion dissipated. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. Nightmare-Do-Vile's body went limp in Mare-Do-Well's hooves, her red eyes faded to a dull grey, and I could see her horn disintegrating bit by bit. Very soon, all that was left of Nightmare-Do-Vile was dust scattered in the wind or filling the now-empty costume. I flew over to Mare-Do-Well.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

Mare-Do-Well sighed. "Tired," she said. "I-I could use a nap."

I chuckled. "C'mon, let's get you patched up."

I placed her foreleg over my shoulder, and together, we flew down to meet the others.

"Hoo-wee~! Glad that's over!" said Applejack, wiping some sweat from her brow.

"Agreed," Octavia panted. She then looked at Mare-Do-Well and smiled. "I-I see you decided to stay with us."

Mare-Do-Well let out a self-mocking snicker. "Well, it's because my friend managed to talk me out of it."

"That's the Princess of Friendship for ya," said Sparkler with a wide grin. "I'm glad you're okay."

"We all are, Mare-Do-Well," said Spitfire with a salute. "This world needs more ponies like you."

Mare-Do-Well sniffled. "Th-thank you all. For everything," she said.

"You're welcome," I said, leading her inside. "Hey, how about I have the chef prepare a big feast for us? My treat."

"That sounds super fun!" Pinkie chirped. "We can call it a We Saved Mare-Do-Well From Her Identity Thief party!"

"That's, a bit of a mouthful, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash.

Derpy tilted her head. "Well, we did save Mare-Do-Well from her faker. I think it's a good name."

"Alright, everypony. Let's settle down here," said Fluttershy. "It doesn't really matter what it's called, does it? Let's just have fun."

"I'm all for that!" said Vinyl.

With that, we all made our way into the castle. Although the mystery was solved, I'll bet we still have a lot of stories to tell. And now that everything is said and done, I kinda want to hear them. But right after that, I'll have to work on fixing Mare-Do-Well's core. She's not going to be able to do any more heroism in her condition, even if she ended up saving me.

Oh, right. Almost forgot.

"Hey, Mare-Do-Well?" I said.

Mare-Do-Well looked up. "Yes?" she asked wearily.

"Thank you," I said. "For saving me back there."

Mare-Do-Well smiled. "No need to thank me, Princess Twilight. It's just what I was meant to do."

Comments

[Celestial Petrichor]

This? This was awesome.

[Manaphy]

Nice to see everyone back together.
Quite the action packed chapter as well!

[Lightoller]

christianitytoday.com/images/35605.gif

[theNDinspector]

Okay, I've been waiting fifty chapters to do this. So here we go...

Pony Avengers, Assemble!

[Ri2]

And once again, the day is saved by Princess Twilight Sparkle!
What? There were other guys? Please, they didn't do anything useful.

[ninja35]

Say, is the confidence boosting tune the opening of 'kung fu fighting' by any chance?

[Metool Bard]

6490647 Nope.

[mylittleponyfan12345]

Best. Story. EVER! Loved it, and I loved the Twilight and Spitfire stories the most. I was sad to see Kirra go,though. but your story!