A Journey Beyond Sanity

by Darkwing Dust

Chapter Thirty-Five: Totally Not Darkwing Duck

"So why Stardust Balance?"

"Hm?" The sudden question incited me to look up for a brief moment, my opponent maintaining her own gaze on the board. "Sorry, what?"

Twilight moved her second bishop forwards before repeating herself, "Why Stardust Balance, if that's not your name? I assume the 'Balance' part is in relation to your philosophy, but I've never seen you express any interest in stars."

Returning my own gaze to the board for my next move, I frowned while concentrating, "I... don't really know, to be honest Twilight. It just came to me." I admitted thoughtfully. The fabricated name was something I decided for about only thirty seconds, so I didn't choose something more creative.

Seeming to accept that answer, the unicorn nodded before proceeding, wiping out my remaining knight. Damn, I needed that in my plan to rid of her king. "I guess I can understand why you adopted a temporary name while in Equestria. Not many ponies are named Jack... White, as in the colour or the direction?"

"No, Wright. W-R-I-G-H-T."

"Ahh." The mare raised a brow while I moved forward a soldier. "Still, Jack Wright... it's a very peculiar name, by our world's standards." Twilight spoke the name as though she was rolling it off the tongue.

I couldn't resist smiling. "My dear, if any of your world's inhabitant's names were used on Earth, they'd be laughing stocks." As she advanced her next piece, I glanced upwards with a raised brow at the serious unicorn. "Do you like my fabricated name?"

Twilight smiled lightly. "Well, you're lucky I happen to be fond of stars in general."

"I like the name too!" Spike added from the far side of the room, preoccupied with moping the wooden floors of the library.

I smirked while looking down again. "Cheers Spike- ...Huh."

The unicorn looked like she was restraining the urge to act smug as my king was defeated without my notice.

---

"Why, it's as if Rainbow isn't even aware she's famous." I said to the mare's, as were at the back of the crowd. Applejack, hearing that, glanced at me in amusement.

Currently myself, the Mane Six, Spike and a whole crowd of fanboys and fangirls celebrating their 'hero' were within Sugarcube Corner. Upon noticing said audience I couldn't resist blanching at the Rainbow Dash t-shirts, hats and any other accessory they wore to display how nuts they were over the boastful pegasus in question. I see you there Snips, Snails and, perhaps most disheartening and amusing of all, Bon Bon.

Why the hype over Rainbow Dash? Because over the last few days she saved many residents of the town. I'd congratulate her myself over saving a filly who fell down a well, a baby in a carriage nearly falling off a cliff, and a couple of elderly ponies from falling off their building with a balcony, if the crowd in front of me wasn't already doing it for me.

Delightfully, I might add. I'm amazed no one started kissing the blue mare's hooves yet.

Fully ignoring Rainbow's obvious exaggerated tale of overcoming a dangerous obstacle, I continued with my mocking. "Oh Rainbow Dash, please, don't be so modest; indulge yourself. I'm certain all your fans wearing shirts of you and wigs after your own mane aren't enough to satisfy your low ego."

Applejack smirked, Rarity giggled and from the corner of my eye Twilight repressed a smile.

"Hey Applejack." The arrogant pegasus had already moved and pulled the surprised orange Earth Pony to her. "How'd you like to be immortalized as my friend?"

I rolled my eyes, "Gimme a break..."

"Immortalized, what?" Applejack asked in confusion before being flashed by a camera,

Oh yeah, there are camera's in this world too. As I said a long time ago, this world simply can't decide what era it wants to be set in.

"Are you taking notes?" Twilight asked, noticing Spike wearing a journalist outfit with a ridiculous fedora, scribbling down words on a notepad.

Oh, so they DO have pencils in this world. I'm learning so much today!

"Yep; I've been hoof-picked by Rainbow Dash herself, to write her autobiography." The dragon explained.

Which cause me to raise a brow. "You are aware that autobiographies are meant to be written by the per- pony of who it's about."

"Maybe for your normal run-of-the-mill ponies." The Sonic ripoff waved a hoof dismissively, still being taken photos of as she spoke. "But I'm far too busy saving lives to stop and write. That's why I hired Spike as my ghost writer."

"Ahh! Spike's a ghost!" Pinkie Pie yelled in fright before running out of the store, leaving a dust cloud behind.

Okay... ignoring that.

I looked back at the shrugging pegasus. "You don't seem to be preoccupied right now." I pointed out.

"Well of course I am." The boastful mare scoffed, gesturing to the gathered ponies surrounding her. "I'm busy being adored by my awesome fans. As I was saying, Spike here writes down everything I say, don't you Spike?"

"'Don't you Spike'?" The lizard in question repeated the mare both vocally and on paper. "Got it!"

I rolled my eyes. "This is ridiculous." I muttered to the group as Rainbow continued babbling on about how 'great' she was.

"I have to concur." Twilight replied evenly, staring just as disbelievingly at the proud pony. "The fame and attention is obviously getting to her head."

"Indeed," Rarity spoke next to my left. "Something should be done about this. We wouldn't want our dear friend over there to become too boastful, yes?"

"Agreed," Applejack responded, "Any ideas?"

"We could talk to her." Fluttershy suggested.

"Or we could drop a boulder on her and crush her other wing." I felt multiple unamused stares sent my way. I rolled my eyes for the third time. "I'm kidding, ladies. Jesus."

"I have an idea." We all turned our heads to Twilight, who was regarding the arrogant Rainbow Dash thoughtfully.

---

"I've never seen such bravery in my life!" A mare of the gathered crowd stated, after witnessing the feat of their new 'saviour'.

Darkwing Duck.

It's so blatantly obvious to just who they were referencing here. As Pinkie Pie, disguised in the costume crafted by a certain skill white unicorn, saved a fellow pink pony whose own hot air balloon was about to crash into the ground, leaving Rainbow to deal with the balloon itself as Pinkie evacuated the falling pony.

There seems to be a lot of falling emergencies in this town.

Anyway. Purple outfit. Large purple fedora. A dark blue mask with light blue eyes to cover the real eyes of the wearer. A dark blue cape covering the entirety of the pony's back body; thank God my own cape wasn't that excessive. And a clear blue pendant on the chest.

It's totally Darkwing Duck.

I've seen this episode before, yes, it was one of the few I watched before arriving in Equestria. And it was one of my favourites because of the clear homage to the Disney vigilante in question. I never watched Darkwing Duck as a kid, but having heard of it a year ago by a certain Critic, and listening to the theme song, I knew it'd be something I'd enjoy immensely.

"That's right," The mayor of Ponyville began, addressing the amazed audience. "Ponyville has a new hero!" We all followed her gaze, to the 'hero' herself standing atop a distant hill, covered in shadow.

Dramatic.

"A mysterious mare who has done well for our fair city today. I dub this new masked hero: the mysterious Mare Do-Well!" The crowd cheered happily for their new champion.

Yeah? I'm calling her Darkwing Mare. It's far more fitting.

"I say that went off without a hitch." Twilight commented, evidently pleased, as the crowd dispersed, all talking among one another about the unknown pony.

I nodded, watching as a disgruntled Rainbow Dash soared to the skies. "I have no doubt this convoluted plan of yours will work, Twilight, despite it making absolutely no sense. But nonetheless, Pinkie Pie put on a good show."

"Yes, you've expressed your skepticism to the plan earlier." The unicorn noted humouredly, observing the departing pegasus also. "You sure you don't want to try on the costume yourself?"

"..."

Twilight giggled, noticing my expression. "I'm just jesting, Stardust."

"...Quite the contrary, my dear. Now you've given ME an idea." I admitted, rubbing my pony chin in thought.

A very silly, un-dignifying idea that'd involve myself acting like a full moron. But not quite a ludicrous and nonsensical as the current plan the five of the Mane Six possess, instead of, you know, just talking to Rainbow Dash about her problem. And hey, I won't lie, I want some of the action myself. If Specter wants me to partake more in the activities of the town, then who am I to decline?

After all... every hero needs a villain.

---

"I still fail to comprehend this plan of yours, Stardust." Rarity expressed, concentrating on sewing the dark red mask. "You're dressing up as a villain... why exactly?"

"To initiate a rather complex idea that will teach our dear Rainbow Dash humility." I explained, circling myself in examination of the costume I requested. "That's all you need to know."

In contrast to the clothing worn by the mare's in disguise, I adorned a yellow outfit. Dark yellow fedora. Dark red cape with the length of its counterpart's. A shiny red pendent on the chest, and Rarity was busy creating the mask itself, which was to be dark red with light red eyes. Best part: the costume was quite comfy. It was a plan I couldn't resist making.

It was practically genius.

"This seems awfully out of character for you." The white mare observed, still not looking away from her work. "I thought you had far too much pride in you to go through with such an idea. For Rainbow Dash, of all ponies."

I shrugged. "I can swallow my pride sometimes." Pride be damned; being a villain was worth it; absurd outfit or not. Plus, being a villain, who in their right mind would say no?

Villains are always more entertaining to watch and enact than heroes.

"That seems to be some significant pride you are swallowing." Rarity finally looked away from her working desk, a floating mask via magic heading my way. Taking off my fedora, I felt the fabric brush my fur as the red mask covered my head. And that same colour covered my natural vision; as the satisfied unicorn and the surroundings before me was coated in pure bright red. "Can you see clearly?"

I nodded, thankful the fabric didn't muffle my voice. "Rarity, you're amazing. Just throwing that out there."

The mare waved a hoof dismissively, though she was clearly flattered. "Well, I've finished your costume. A marvelous piece of work, if I do say so myself."

"Careful, my dear, I might just plan to knock down your self-indulgence next." I said jokingly, inspecting the brilliant work in the now-red mirror. An exact copy of the Darkwing Mare suit, but more sinister looking, and in tribute to the main villain of that show. Excellent.

Should I name myself the Nega-Mare?

"So, what will you do now?"

"Now." I began, moving the excessive cape over my muzzle in a dramatic fashion, causing Rarity to raise an invisible brow. The mask covered my excited grin. "I wait at the right opportunity."

---

I didn't have to wait too long.

Standing atop a fitting building, overlooking the town square filled with bustling ponies, everything was set in place. Unaware of my looming presence, I stood on the red roof, making sure there were enough equines around to get my message across. This plan was so absurd and convoluted - not much different than the girl's own idea - it'll have to work. Rainbow Dash needs to learn humility? I'll teach her humility.

By humiliating her.

Clearing my throat, I began with my worked-on villain voice. "Equines of Ponyville!" The surprised crowd of citizens looked up at the booming voice, gasping at the caped pony staring down upon them.

"It's Mare Do-Well!" One exclaimed while pointing upwards.

Yes, my male voice makes it convincing, doesn't it?

"Fools!" I yelled, getting into the role with minimal difficulty. "I am not that noble-loving mare! I am her arch-nemesis! Cower in terror, my friends, for this town is about to face the wrath of..." I forced myself not to break character upon saying my chosen villain name, "Professor Balance!" Followed by sinister laughter, worthy of a noble prize if I do say so myself.

Oh how easy it was to instill fear into these innocent ponies. Already some were running away in terror, the rest looking ready to do the same. I couldn't stop grinning. This must be how actors feel when slipping into the role of the antagonist.

It felt wonderful.

"What do you want with us, Professor Balance?" I glanced down at the voice, belonging to the aged Mayor of Ponyville. She looked unnerved, yet not as frightened as her own citizens.

"Why, I desire so much in life; conquest of this pitiful town of yours. The destruction of Mare Do-Well. So on and so forth. And unless she comes to me right now, you will all suffer many wrath in her stead." I raised my voice for a larger portion of the town to hear. "What will it be, my dear Mare Do-Well?! Will you face your oldest enemy in combat, or should I have to express my dissatisfaction upon those you protect?"

"That's not going to happen!"

I smirked. Right on cue.

Rainbow Dash appeared in the air, staring down at me defiantly, and with a smug expression. "Never fear, your awesome neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!" Spiderman would be ashamed. The pegasus pointed at me. "I will face you, fiend, in Mare Do-Well's place!"

I laughed loudly. Hey, it's a kid's show, I can be as over-the-top as I please. "You? The boastful Rainbow Dash? You're nothing compared to I, Professor Balance... or that mare." I noticed the glare forming on her features, prompting me to continue with my false mockery. Did she already recognize who was behind the mask? I continued regardless, "Why, you lack the necessary qualities of being a hero, or as my new nemesis. No, I demand Darkwing- err, Mare Do-Well."

Already the blue equine was seething. "I'll show you some qualities!"

Oof!

I felt myself being impacted into the air, as Rainbow Dash recklessly charged into me at a high speed, sending me off the roof and away from the town's citizens. Good... she took the bait. I felt the wind assault my back, despite the long cape and outfit protecting my fur. Now, time for phase two.

Let's hope Specter was right about this.

Closing my eyes, I attempted my best to concentrate - with significant difficulty of being flown across the air and a certain pegasus charging through my stomach - to utilize the apparent power of balance itself. My own displeasure of Rainbow Dash's arrogance, and the sheer joy of playing a villain. A positive and negative emotion united as one.

Let's see if this works.

Opening my eyes again, internally thanking this mask for covering my face from the wind, I reached down, grabbing Rainbow's front forward limbs with my own front hoofs, and threw the mare off me.

And to my surprise, and satisfaction, it worked.

But of course there were consequences, as my back landed hard on the dirt ground below, causing me to roll several as I winced at the protesting pain caused by it. Not the first time I've injured my back since coming to Equestria. Throwing my front hoofs down to slow down, that worked quite effectively.

It worked. It actually worked!

"Okay tough guy." I looked to the side after inspecting the palms of my hooves in admiration, the Sonic ripoff regarding me with disdain from above. It looks like the pegasus had taken us to a meadow outside the town, with an open grassy area for us to engage combat in. "Looks like you've got a new hero to fight with."

I scoffed, quickly returning to the acting. "Let me know when one pops up."

My cape was already detached from the outfit when a fuming Rainbow Dash attacked again, this time flying while sending punches my way, causing me to take numerous steps back. And somehow, somehow, I was blocking the extraordinary fast attacks with ease. My brother usually preferred fighting me, and I always defended myself, but this was something entirely.

Was this what balance is truly capable of?

My opponent kept releasing sounds of frustration with every block I made. I had no intention on hurting this mare before me, why would I do that? No, I'm going to tire Rainbow out first before anything else.

Blocking another punch, I shoved her back with own hoof, the mare flying a few feet away to recover her energy. "How... are you so strong?" Rainbow asked amidst her panting.

"Quite simple my dear." I began while shaking my front limbs. It'd be a lie to say I wasn't quite exhausted myself. "Your arrogance fuels me."

"What...?"

"Let me explain to your pitiful mind." After all, the fight was just getting started. I wanted to see more of what I was capable of doing. In defense, of course. "Mare Do-Well is noble, selfless, she helps others because it's the right thing to do. She never boasts. She never asks for autographs. She is every requirement of a true hero. You, on the other hand, have lost your way; you became egotistical with your newfound fame, and you only care about the rewards and affection of your fans, rather than the safety and welfare of those you try to protect. Hence why Mare Do-Well, my true nemesis, has become this town's favourite more than you."

I concluded with a hint of mockery. "Such a fall from grace, no? But at least Ponyville has someone who wants to them help without any benefit to herself... briefly anyway."

Damn, I was good. I noticed her teeth grind with every word escaping my covered muzzle. As if the truth wasn't that hard to believe. I can see the fury in her pink eyes, and swallowed an urge to shudder.

Hopefully Rainbow won't lose too much composure and utilize, say, the Sonic Rainboom on my arse...

"I'll show you, Professor Balance! I'll show this town I can become a hero! I'll show them I care about them! I'll show that Mare Do-Well that Ponyville only has room for one hero!" The arrogant mare announced, glaring at the town a distant away for a moment before glaring back down at me. "And I'll start be beating her arch-nemesis; that'll show her!"

I smirked at the confident words, taking a prepared stance. "Well then, prove it."

And she happily obliged.

The assault caused air to sharply leave my lungs, as Rainbow Dash initiated a faster speed then earlier. Below me the ground was looking smaller and smaller. The pegasus was carrying me into the sky, a clenched hoof pressed into my cloaked stomach mercilessly. Her pink eyes met mine, gleaming triumphantly.

Oh no you don't.

Repeating a move from before, I grabbed the assaulting limb, and quickly pulled. Rainbow Dash released a sound of surprise as I spun around in a three-hundred and sixty degrees angle, letting go and hurtling the pegasus to the ground below. We were too far for my counterattack to have her impact the surface of the world. But as I said, harming her wasn't my intention.

You know, this wasn't quite what I had in mind. At least back home I could tell my little sister about the time I fought her favourite pony.

...If I survive falling from this far that is.

I felt the large dark red fedora leave my head - surprised that didn't happen earlier - as I began to descend to the ground below. Beneath me, Rainbow Dash had recovered from my move, staring up at me. I couldn't see her expression, but some gut feeling told me she was about to do something that would cause immense pain towards me.

My intuition was correct, as the mare began flying upwards again, an outstretched hoof ready to impact into me and cause internal injuries. I smiled grimly. Two can play at this game, love. Clenching my own front left hoof, I outstretched my limb also, ready for it to meet her own. I may not want to hurt the pegasus, but I'll be damned if I allow this boastful pony to land me in hospital without a fight.

Bring it on.

And with the speed we were both going in, it wasn't long before our hoofs met. And a large amount of shock assaulted my mind.

A white flash was the last thing I saw. Before nothing.

---

God. Damn. The. Sun.

The pestering light relentlessly assaulted my face, forcing me to wake up from my slumber. Covering my eyes with my hoof, it quickly occurred to me that I was... outside.

Okay, when did this happen? Why do I feel like I'm wearing an outfit? Why does my back hurt? And most importantly, why did I have a banging headache?

All these questions and more were immediately answered as today's earlier events returned to my mind. Dressing up as a villain, facing Rainbow Dash, fighting the pegasus, our hoofs impacting in the sky that caused my aware systems to shut down for some reason. Rubbing my eyes, despite them covered by the fabric of the mask, I made an attempt to get up, rolling around onto my stomach as my body slowly woke up.

Oh... and my left hoof was throbbing too. Wonderful.

"Ugh... what happened?" It wasn't I who asked this. My attention focused on a dazed Rainbow Dash, who was getting up herself from the ground, quickly shaking her head. "What was I doing...?" Then her gaze focused on me, as today's earlier events were clearly returning to her own head. "You!"

I flinched at the sharpened tone, rubbing my head. "Me..."

"Tell me what happened!"

"I'm as clueless as you are." I admitted, inhaling deeply for a moment before continuing. "All I recall is my hoof clashing into yours... and then nothing. The same occurred to you?"

The pegasus frowned, slowly nodding. "Yeah... what was that?"

"I have no idea..."

"Huh..." Rainbow looked down for a moment, appearing thoughtful, before gazing back up with a victorious grin, pointing at me. "Ha! So I won then! I told you so! Mare Do-Well, eat your heart out! Ponyville's true hero is still here!"

The arrogance incited me to shake my head. "You still haven't learned...?"

"Learned what?" She asked snidely.

...Fine, no more complications.

"What are you- Stardust?!" I couldn't help but smile a little at the reaction to the removal of my mask. "You're Professor Balance?!"

"Was it not obvious?" I inquired in slight irritation and amusement. "The voice? The name?"

"Well, now that you mention it... but why? Why were you dressed up as a villain? That's not like you!"

I nodded. "Indeed. It was a plan of mine to get your attention."

"'My attention'? For what?"

"To speak with you."

The pegasus blinked uncomprehendingly. "But, you could have spoken to me at anytime!"

"While you were preoccupied attempting to upstage Mare Do-Well?" That caused the mare to close her mouth, allowing me to continue. Rubbing my head again, as the godforsaken headache refused to leave, I explained myself, "I meant what I said earlier, about you being selfish and caring only about your fame more than what it means to be a hero."

Rainbow frowned. "But I-"

"Let me speak." I snapped, wishing this throbbing pain would just leave already. "You've noticed by now that the town residents have begun praising that masked crusader more than you. And do you know why that is?"

Either she was suffering her own pain to interrupt, or was genuinely curious to what I had to say. The pegasus motioned for me to proceed.

"Over time, when you began saving the citizens, you allowed the fame, your celebrity status, to go to your head. Peo- Ponies like a hero who is humble, who cares for others and asks nothing in return. A hero performs selfless acts not for fame and glory, but for the welfare of others. Because a hero cares about what happens to his or her citizens."

As the information seemed to sink in, I smiled tiredly. "You can be proud of your achievements, but boast about them too much and, well, the less love you'll receive from those around you."

The exception to that rule is, of course, Darkwing Duck. But I'm talking about simplistic heroes here.

"So, what you're saying is, that I allowed my own achievements to go to my head?"

"Basically."

"Oh." The mare rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess I got carried away with my fame a little."

I scoffed at the meek words. "A little my arse-"

"Rainbow Dash! Stardust!" Our heads turned to the owner of the voice, belonging to a concerned Twilight, running towards us along with the rest of the Mane Six and Spike. Slowing down the unicorn asked in clear worry, "What happened? There was a massive shockwave in the sky that caused all the clouds to disappear!"

Both the blue mare and I shared a puzzled glance, before looking upwards for confirmation. Huh... well what do you know? So that's what happened.

"Stardust, why are you dressed like that?" Fluttershy inquired, gesturing to the red and yellow costume.

"More importantly, what exactly happened 'ere?" Applejack asked in confusion.

No, I could deal with this right now. Not with this pounding headache...

"You know girls, I'd love to answer your questions. But right now, I just want a drink." Their jaws dropped at the response, clearly not expecting that.

"You know what? I'm with him on that." Rainbow Dash said, walking with me pass the shocked group. "I could do with something to drink after what just happened back there. Plus there's this headache I need to get rid of."

Oh so I wasn't the only one. "Sugarcube Corner, Dash?"

"Sure thing, Star." I threw a side-glare at the nickname, yet the unfazed pegasus shrugged. "Hey, considering your so-called nicknames given to me, I'd say this was fair."

...Touche.

---

"So let me get this straight; when your hoof and Rainbow Dash's own collided, that caused the shockwave that temporarily shook the town and cleared away the clouds?"

"Apparently." I nodded in thanks to Spike for the ice pack, applying the cold bag to my head. Ahh... much better. Soda wasn't enough to get rid of it, I learnt earlier.

Meanwhile, Twilight was still attempting to solve the confusion over what happened, having magically conjured up a chalkboard on the first floor library. Already there were calculations and words beyond my understanding written on it. The mare shook her head, "It doesn't make any sense. Unless Rainbow used the Sonic Rainboom during your battle, but you wouldn't have had enough time to react to her attack."

I shrugged, admitting without shame, "It's as much an enigma to me as it is to you, my dear Twilight." Another thing I'll have to ask Specter when I get the chance to.

It was revealed to the pegasus earlier today, after she had written her own letter to Celestia about her lesson, who the identities behind Mare Do-Well were. Applejack was the one to express disappointment over the fact I got to Rainbow first about addressing her problem. Fluttershy seemed pleased over how willing I was to help a friend out.

And Twilight? Apart from wondering what the shockwave was about, the unicorn was in disbelief over how easy I sacrificed my own dignity to play the role of a villain, in pretense or not.

"The only theory presentable is balance being involved." The clever mare speculated, the chalk writing down this stuff by itself as she spoke. "You said you used it during the fight."

"Yes." I can't lie and say I wasn't curious about it myself. And I was, very so indeed. Could the impact between Rainbow's unnatural speed and my ability to use 'balance' have resulted in the apparent shockwave?

So many questions. Not enough answers.

Twilight nodded, muttering, "More research to conduct, of course..." I smirked. "Still, I can't believe Rainbow Dash didn't figure out who you were quickly. It was, from how you described the encounter, quite obvious."

"I can believe it." I replied casually, shrugging. "Since your species is hopelessly naive."

The sentence incited Twilight to look at me, frowning. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I could say the word 'gullible' was painted on the ceiling, and you'd believe me right away."

The unicorn bristled. "Stardust, you can't generalize an entire species like that."

"I believe I can." I retorted, standing up. "Since I've been interacting with another race of creatures for a long-arse time now. And form what I've seen so far, I've yet to meet a single pony who wouldn't be so easily deceived."

"That's hardly fair; you haven't met every single pony in Equestria." Twilight pointed out, her invisible brow raised. "Who are you to judge an entire race by just interacting with a few of them?"

"An outsider. An observer." I shrugged again.

The mare scoffed. "And I thought Rainbow Dash was arrogant. You might just best her at the trait yet."

I frowned, wincing as the headache pounded my head further while my annoyance increased. Alright, you win this one for now, Twilight. The mare also continued wearing her own outfit of Darkwing Mare, having immediately set herself to work instead of taking the thing off as soon as we returned to the library.

And I must say, it's rather fitting on her...

Upon noticing my stare, the unicorn looked away from the board for with a raised suspicious brow. "What?"

"Nothing." I replied, tearing my gaze off her to the stairway. "You just look... quite good, fitting, in that outfit."

"Oh... thank you... I guess."

I snorted at the confused tone. "You're welcome you ungrateful mare."

Now, I had one last thing to take care of before I depart for bed.

---

The light of the moon, and the stars, illuminated myself below, as I stood upon the roof of the library, firm branches beneath the leaves supporting my weight. My dark blue cape flowing in the wind, eyes staring upwards at the pale orb above the blue sky. I adorned the blue mask Twilight took off earlier, along with the large purple fedora. This may be the effects of the soda making me do this, but damn will I not miss this chance.

Proclaiming to the stars above, I spoke, intentionally dramatically. "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the one who brings balance to those who suffer from chaos and suffocate by harmony. I am Darkwing Dust!"

Feeling the branches underneath my hooves shake slightly by a new arrival, I heard Spike speak beside me, just as melodramatic. "And I am his sidekick, the Spikanator! Together we stop evil doers in their track, and bring justice to all of Ponyville!"

From the corner of my eye the lizard wore his own small costume, blue and purple with his own small cape flapping. The sight almost caused me to chuckle.

"Good!" We heard Twilight spoke from below, obviously addressing us from the balcony. "While you two are up there you can clean out the leftover dead leaves!"

I had half a mind to say 'Bite me'.

"Come on Spikanator; tonight the library, and tomorrow the town." I announced as we went to work, Spike saluting before following my lead.

Let's get dangerous.

Comments

[Voltrasin]

I enjoyed this chapter so much more than the original episode.

[Amethyst Blade]

While I'm rather annoyed with the six...Twilight is right. He is too arrogant and prideful with a dash of holier-than-thou for his own good.

[Texus]

beside the things I maybe don´t like, I would like to know if there is already something to read about Twilight, and him being special someponys, or something like that, I just hope it doesn´t happens only in the last chapter.

[Amethyst Blade]

6566503 Kinda hard to be friendly while doing it...Emotion is a powerful thing.
My method mostly consist of drinking COLD water while debating to keep a calm and cool head. HAHAHA...Cool head...get it?
I'll go to the corner.

[Texus]

That was a nice fighting scene, it was actually fun.

[Tide Hunter]

This is something I wrote about this story on the Fanfiction website:

Your Fanfiction is one of my favorites. It's long, coherent, and free of spelling/grammatical mistakes/errors. Also, the main character is interesting, has pretty good humor when it appears, and there are not any moments when the characters seem like what they do is out of character.

So that's what I wrote four months ago, for this chapter.

[Dead Gods Dream]

Was that a Simpsons reference at the the end.

[Silentwoodfire]

7455593

Nope, still Darkwing Duck, its the catch-phrase.

[Alicorn prince Darklight]

ha ha ha! I love that ending

[silvadel]

You know Stardust reminds me a lot of Sugarcoat in Twinkletails' Sugarcoat Interferes in Pony History.

[Wild Wire]

DUDE! DARKWING DUCK WAS MY CHILDHOOD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Cloudy Arrow]

"Mare Do-Well is noble, selfish, she helps others because it's the right thing to do. ."

that should be selfless

[Wartank55]

Rainbow Dash appeared in the air, staring down at me defiantly, and with a smug expression. "Never fear, your awesome neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!" Spiderman would be ashamed. The pegasus pointed at me. "I will face you, fiend, in Mare Do-Well's place!"

Spider-man’s dust is rolling in its grave right now