Rise of the Ultramare

by Dragomena

Part Four: Let Somepony Love You

Rise of the Ultramare

Part Four: Let Somepony Love You

By Dragon Rage

Twilight sat impatiently on the roof of Sugarcube Corner, waiting into the night for any sign of Ultramare. There had been no word of the villainous pegasus at all the past two nights, nor had she been sighted today, for that matter. While she was thankful that nopony had gotten hurt and that they'd had time to set up their signal flare system with a few ponies in town—enough to give anyone who saw it an idea of where she would be attacking, Twilight couldn't help but feel as if their time was being deliberately wasted.

She sighed and pulled her mask back, then lied down on her belly. Just like she'd anticipated, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found when they needed her. That was the least alarming part about it, though.

When Fluttershy returned from her house in the sky the other day, she came back carrying two wigs: One for a mane, the other for a tail. Both were stark white.

She didn't want to believe it. She'd confronted Cloudkicker the day they found the wig, and her testimony held up with what they'd found. Ultramare had a "deal" with Rainbow Dash; the villain would arrive and cause havoc, then leave so Dash could save the day time and time again. Between that and the wigs Fluttershy had found, there was nothing left for her to do but inform those working the flares what to watch out for. Should they spot Ultramare or Rainbow Dash they were to set off their flare, giving away her position to Mare Do Well.

She hardly believed that anything would call for taking up the cowl and tights. Between the fallout with Rainbow Dash and the harassment they'd received the week after their identities were revealed, she wouldn't have minded never seeing the costume again. This whole mess started because of Mare Do Well.

'No,' Twilight thought. Maybe if they'd been a little more honest with Dash, none of this would've happened. She grabbed her hat in her mouth, staring at it until the very sight of it sickened her. Then she tossed it aside and shouted out in anger, "Stupid, stupid me! Why did I even think this was a good idea?!"

As if in response to her, a flare went up a fair distance away.

"That's... the library?! My home!" Twilight leapt from the building, using her magic to secure her cowl and hat in place. She raced off towards the giant tree house, intent on stopping Ultramare, no matter who she was under that mask.

~~~

Fluttershy sat in silence behind the tall tree house. Ultramare had gone inside not too long ago. She wanted to confront her, wanted to try to talk her out of making things worse than they already were, but couldn't find the strength to move. So when the flare went off, she was relieved to know that soon somepony else would be here to help. Then she heard Spike scream.

Before she even fully realized what she was doing, Fluttershy found herself face to face with the villainous pegasus. No longer did she wear her own mask, but still she stood cocksure and proud, her brilliant violet eyes piercing through the yellow mare's mask. Even with that long, stark white mane, there was no way anypony couldn't see the mare standing before them was Rainbow Dash. Around her neck sat the Element of Loyalty, every bit as white as her mane and tail.

Ultramare shook her head and chuckled. "Oh, you stupid, stupid foal. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this." Ultramare lowered her head, pointing the Horned Circlet at Fluttershy.

"Wait!" she cried, fumbling with the mask and hat until the latter fell to her side and the former was finally removed. "Rainbow Dash, please wait!"

The violet-eyed pegasus lifted her head, her eyes widening in surprise. "F-Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy smiled, drawing closer to her confused friend. "Please," she pleaded, the concern in her voice genuine, "let me help you, Dash. You've done so much these past few days, and I know you're hurting, but if you just talk with us, I'm sure-"

"You're sure of what?" Those violet eyes followed her carefully as Fluttershy circled around her.

Fluttershy finally settled beside her, snuggling her head underneath her friend's muzzle. "I'm sure," she said, trying to sound reassuring, "that everyone will find it in their hearts to forgive you."

The light blue pegasus looked at her, as if she were unsure whether or not to believe her. "You... you really think so, huh?"

"Oh, I know so." Fluttershy smiled, leading the way to the front door. "You just need to talk with the rest of our friends like you do with me. Even Spike might come around. You didn't hurt him too badly, did you?"

Ultramare shook her head. "No, he's just scared, that's all. And you're right, I've just gotta treat them the way I treat you."

~~~

Twilight could barely maintain her composure. The unconscious body of their friend Fluttershy sat in a heap not far from her. Across from her stood Ultramare... stood Rainbow Dash. She'd gone too far this time, Twilight thought. She wanted to chew her former friend out for this, to do... something horrible to her. But if she said even a word, the entire point of bringing back Mare Do Well would be defeated.

"Oh wow." Ultramare said, the scorn on her face painfully clear. "So there's two of you? Whatever shall I do? Let me guess, you're Applejack? No? Rarity? Well, it doesn't matter. I'm going to grind you into the dirt, just like your worthless-"

"Shut up you big stupid jerk!!"

Twilight jerked her neck to the side, staring in surprise at the sight of Mare Do Well on a nearby roof. The voice was clearly Pinkie Pie's, though confirming it that way was pointless as she soon threw off her hat and cowl.

The pink mare was absolutely livid with rage. "I can't believe you! How could you?! To her?!" She growled fiercely, then leapt from the rooftop, charging at Rainbow Dash. Sure enough, her Pinkie Sense told her what was coming, and she evaded the incoming kick, But her little victory was short lived, as a white hot bolt of light punched into her from the Horned Circlet, sending her flying through the air and landing near Fluttershy. The pink mare groaned, trying to stand up, but collapsed soon afterwards.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight gasped, then drew a hoof over her mouth. She'd blown her cover, just like her friends had.

"So this is your brilliant plan, egghead? You all come at me, disguised as the one pony I hate more than anyone else, and then one by one reveal yourselves?" The violet-eyed pegasus threw her head back and laughed as she casually walked forward.

Twilight sighed and lowered her head, removing her cowl and hat. "You've figured me out, Rainbow Dash."

The mare paused her movement, much to Twilight's surprise, then rapidly ascended to a gallop.

She tried to shield herself with a barrier, but her adversary was too quick—she'd closed the distance in what felt like an instant.

Twilight screamed as a white hot burst of magic crashed into her lower jaw, flipping her over and knocking her into the ground with a painful thud. She struggled to get up, but Dash's hoof found its mark on her chest, knocking the wind out of her. The last thing she saw and heard was Ultramare's enraged face as she shouted, "Stop saying that name!"

~~~

Twilight groaned as she came to. She tried to stand up on all fours, but as soon she rose only a few inches she felt a strong force jerk her back down. She turned her head to the side, trying to make sense of what had happened. To her right were the rest of her friends, each of whom had been bound to the stone floor beneath them by a short metal chain and collar. Applejack and Rarity were a bit of a surprise for her—she hadn't seen them when Ultramare had attacked. She was about to try and speak when a booming voice greeted them.

"So, you're all starting to awaken. Good. This place familiar, Twi? It's Ponyville's dam. Rather poorly built, if you ask me."

Twilight craned her head back, trying to find the source of the voice. Standing on a raised stone wall opposite the five mares was Ultramare. Her brilliant violet eyes glowered back at her. "Whatever you're planning, Dash-," Twilight said, only to receive a nasty shock as the horned circlet began glowing. The disgust on the villain's face grew into unbridled rage.

"Call me that name one more time, Twi!" Her voice boomed over the five. "Come on, do it! DO IT!" When nopony replied, she took a deep breath, then smiled. "Rainbow Dash is just as much my prisoner as you five are. She wouldn't listen to your protests or pleas anyways, not after everything you put her through. Now, what were you saying? You'd like to hear my plan for you? Do it now? Tick tock, sunshine. Tick. Tock."

Twilight glared at her captor, but let the comment go. If Ultramare was willing, she'd try to milk every last word and second from her that she could. "What's your plan here?" She asked. "Why go through the trouble of knocking us all out, then dragging us out here and letting us live?"

The villainous pegasus strutted about, then turned to face Applejack. "You're a smart, down to earth gal, AJ. What do you think?"

The blond earth pony turned her head to her unicorn friends, then closed her eyes. "Yer tryin' ta rub our failure in. We lost the war here, an' yer takin' yer sweet time ta twist the knife, so ta speak."

The white-maned pegasus laughed, using her magic to zap her.

The earth pony winced, fighting through the pain until she was finished. "Am... ah... wrong?"

"No", the evil mare confirmed, "I just like hurting you, that's all. Honest! So how about you, Hayseed? I bet you're just burning to-"

"What did you do with Rainbow Dash?!"

The blond earth pony turned her head to the side, glaring at Pinkie Pie. She whispered to her, "What in the hay are ya doin', ya silly filly?"

The pink pony turned to look at her too, briefly dropping her rage-filled visage to give a knowing wink. "I know exactly what I'm doing! This bully did something to hurt our Dashie and I'm gonna find out what!"

Ultramare smiled. "Hm. That's a tough one." The villainous pegasus paced back and forth alone the edge. "I suppose you could say I am your old friend, but that's not quite right. She made me for two reasons. To help her regain her lost status in Ponyville, and..." She leapt from the wall, landing beside Rarity. "So she could get a little personal revenge on everyone who wronged her without having to feel guilty about it. After all, it's not Rainbow Dash who broke the new weathermares, or tried to flood Ponyville, or went out of her way to try and break her dearest friends. It's Ultramare, right?"

Rarity protested, "You didn't answer her question!" and received a shock to her system for her efforts.

"I guess I didn't. Well, to make a long story short, once Dash tried to get rid of me, I took over. Of course," she said, this time stopping in front of Fluttershy, "by then any chance of her saving her own friendships, let alone her reputation, had been completely shot. She gave in willingly once that became clear. Why try futilely to be the hero when it's so much easier to be the villain?"

"Because..." Fluttershy said, mustering up the courage to speak, "that's not who Rainbow Dash is."

Ultramare turned her disgusted gaze to the little yellow pegasus. "What did you just say? You think you know Dash better than me?"

"No..." Fluttershy admitted. "I couldn't possibly know more about yourself than you do, Dash."

The white-maned pegasus stormed over to her, glaring her right in the eye.

"But I know enough, and I know my Rainbow Dash would never give up that easily. No matter how badly her friends screw up, she'd still try her hardest to forgive them."

"NO! No no no!" The villainous mare cleared her throat, then glared angrily at her adversary with tear-rimmed eyes. "Give up already! Dash is gone, you stupid foal! Done! She isn't coming back, no matter how much you beg and plead! The Element of Loyalty lies dead because of you and your friends!" Even as she spoke, the five mares' individual gazes all locked onto the Element of Loyalty.

It was flickering, as if the color were trying to return to it.

"I'm sorry," the yellow pegasus said, her apology every bit as sincere as the one she'd given several days ago. "None of us had any idea what to do when you ran away from us that day, when we first tried to tell you we were Mare Do Well. We just wanted to help you, and-"

The villainous mare stamped the ground before her, though Fluttershy refused to flinch. "All you did was brag about how great you five were at being heroes and how much of a failure she was! You made her the laughingstock of Ponyville!"

Still the yellow pegasus stood her ground. "I know... there's no excuse for how we handled that. I'm so sorry, Dash."

The villain pulled away, refusing to look at any of her prisoners. "You've ruined the mood, you s-stupid foal. Congratulations." As the horned circlet began to glow furiously, a large storm cloud began to form above the dam.

Twilight looked on in horror. Though she and Rarity had finally succeeded in undoing their own bonds, she had been hoping to have more time to free their friends as well. The five of them needed to work together to beat Ultramare, and their only opportunity to do so had been wasted by Fluttershy.

"The lightning within the cloud will continue to grow until it's ready to burst. When that happens, you and this entire dam will be destroyed! As for me, I've got a date with Sugarcube Corner." With that the villainous mare flew off, leaving the five of them to their fates.

Rarity stood up, shaking her head in exasperation as she fought with Applejack's bonds. "Fluttershy, what in Celestia's name were you thinking?!"

The yellow pegasus turned her apologetic face to her. "I was trying to bring Rainbow Dash back one more time, so we could apologize to her."

The white unicorn cocked her head to the side. "Applejack, what is she talking about?"

The blond earth pony shared an aside glance with her pink-maned counterpart, then smiled. "Ah think ah got it. Rainbow's still in there, still hurtin' 'cause a' what we did ta her. She ain't gone like Ultramare says at all, which means there's still hope."

Fluttershy nodded. "That's why I apologized so readily. If Rainbow Dash knows just how we feel, maybe she'll find it in herself to forgive us."

Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up. "And if she forgives us, then maybe we might be able to bring her back! And even if we can't... she deserves it, doesn't she?"

Twilight lowered her head and sighed. "You're right. This whole time she's been hurting herself over our own mistakes. If it weren't for my plan, none of this would have even happened."

"That ain't fair, Twi!"

She raised her head in confusion, looking at the blond earth pony as she rose from her bonds. "What do you mean, AJ?"

"Ah'm sayin' just 'cause you came up with the plan, doesn't mean we all didn't take part in it. You ain't the only one ta blame here."

Rarity sighed in agreement. "She's right, you know. All of us are to blame for this. We each played our own part in cutting Rainbow Dash down to size. If we're to apologize to her and try to make this better, then we should all do so together."

"Alright," Twilight agreed, freeing the last of her friends from the chains binding them to the dam's stone surface. "But first, we need to deal with that." She motioned to the glowing storm cloud above them. "If we don't act soon, the entire dam is going to blow!"

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Oh, that? That's easy to fix!"

Twilight looked at her friend with more than a little annoyance. "What?"

"Well", the earth pony said, "what kind of spells did Ultramare use before?"

Twilight turned her head to the sky, pondering the question. "She brought a cloud and a lightning bolt to life in order to fight me..."

"And when Rainbow Dash carried me to your place after the big storm," Fluttershy added, "she said she'd needed to deal with Living Lightning inside the storm cloud to get rid of it."

"Of course!" Twilight shouted. "The only two spells Ultramare ever cast were a Magic Burst and a Come to Life spell!"

She focused her horn in the direction of the cloud. If she was right, a simple Dispel would work to undo the storm. Her horn glowed a rich purple, as did the cloud. At first nothing happened, but soon the growing cloud began to shrink and dissipate.

"See!" Pinkie shouted, pulling her friend into a close hug and nearly throwing her concentration off. "I knew it! Dashie got lazy and kept using the same spells over and over again!"

Twilight chuckled nervously, trying to hide her embarrassment over not having caught on sooner. "Well, with that taken care of, we should get going. We'll need to stop by the library first, but we haven't much time to spare."

~~~

Ultramare winced as she landed just outside of Sugarcube Corner. This wasn't going the way she'd planned at all. She'd taken so many steps to ensure that Rainbow Dash would let herself be lost to the world, giving up her body and mind to the villain. But now she was fighting back, and though it was clear to the devious mare that her counterpart would still lose, their battle had begun to take its toll on her. Until she won, every move she made was a conscious effort just to get anything done.

She lowered her head, ready to blast open the front door. Nothing happened. "Huh? Oh come on!" She shouted, wearily stamping a hoof against the soft ground beneath her. "Why won't you just give up already?! I won! You can't keep fighting when I've already won!" But despite her protests, the Horned Circlet refused to work. Angrily, she tossed it aside. Somehow that seemed to lift some of the burden from her, and while her magic had failed she found herself more than able to kick open the door with her hind legs.

Standing just beyond the frame were Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the former armed with a skillet and the latter a rolling pin.

Ultramare grinned. "You really think those cooking implements are going to stop me from walking all over your precious shop?"

The married couple looked at each other briefly, then turned back to the villainous mare, refusing to budge.

The villain muttered in exasperation. "... Stupid... stupid! I guess I'll just have to-."

"Hold it right there, Ultramare!"

Ultramare spun on her heels, her eyes widening in confusion as she came face to face with the very five mares she thought she'd left for dead. Her confusion quickly turned to panic as she stumbled over to the Horned Circlet. Just as she was about to grab it, it flew into the air and settled in a saddlebag on the flank of Twilight Sparkle.

"Your reign of terror has gone on long enough", Twilight said, levitating the small bejeweled chest containing the other five Elements of Harmony from the same bag. "You no longer have the Horned Circlet of Star-Swirl the Bearded. There's no way you can defeat all five of us without it."

Ultramare knew this was true enough. She could probably take one or two of them on just through pure speed and strength, but without the Horned Circlet they could easily overpower her. "Fine", she said, crouching down just slightly, "I admit defeat. Go ahead and take me prisoner, I deserve nothing less." As the five ponies began to approach her, she laughed and tried to spread her wings, so that she could fly away and leave them far behind.

To her surprise, her wings refused to budge.

"Before we take you in," Twilight said, her voice near-perfectly even, though with a hint of sadness in the tone, "we all have one thing we want to say to you."

The villainous mare cocked her white-maned head in confusion.

"Rainbow Dash...," the purple unicorn began, "I just want to say... I'm sorry. The whole plan was a mistake right from the start. We should have tried talking with you from the beginning, to let you know just what was happening to you to begin with. Instead we plotted behind your back and, even though it wasn't our intention, we humiliated you and ruined everything you'd worked for in Ponyville. Again... I'm sorry, Dash."

The white-maned pegasus flinched, trying to fight the tears forming in her eyes. "You don't mean that. If you meant it you'd have said it a long time ago!"

Applejack stepped forward, shaking her head. "Just 'cause we didn't say it then, doesn't mean it ain't the truth, sugarcube. That whole time we plotted, not one of us ever thought to just talk with ya. We hid behind them capes an' cowls an' took pride in our little deception. No mincin' words here, it was just plain dishonesty on our parts. No friend deserves that sort a' treatment. Ah'm... so very sorry, Rainbow."

"No!" The villainous mare cried, hot tears running down the front of her face. "I... don't care! It's too late to go around apologizing for that!"

Rarity smiled. "Darling, it's only too late to apologize if you're gone. We still have you here, and every bit of grief we feel for your loss is genuine." The white unicorn then frowned, lowering her head as she continued. "For what it's worth, while I may not have been out there saving ponies' lives, I still helped create Mare Do Well in my own way. I took so much joy in providing our fair Ponyville with her that I never stopped to think of what harm I'd been bringing to anypony I held dear. For everything I've done to you, Rainbow Dash, I am truly... truly sorry."

"B-but," Ultramare stuttered, her body slowly walking its way over to the five of them against her better judgment, "if y-you guys are s-so sorry, w-why did you... luh... luh..."

"We laughed because it was like a prank, Dashie."

Ultramare turned her attention to Pinkie Pie this time. If there was any hope for her yet, this pink mare was giving it to her. "J-just a g-good natured prank, huh?"

The pink pony shook her head. "No, it was an awful one. We didn't think it through very much, we didn't bother to make sure you'd think it was funny, and we botched the execution completely! And then we all... laughed, and you didn't laugh with us, so..." She sighed, brushing her cotton candy mane against the villainous mare's neck. "I'm sorry we laughed at you, Dashie."

Ultramare closed her eyes and sniffed. "S-so you're all s-sorry then? You th-think all this is going to fix everything?" One by one she felt her old friends closing in around her, brushing up against her shaking body.

"No apology could fix what happened to you, Dash."

Ultramare recognized that voice—it was the one that tried to make amends in the first place. "Fluttershy? What are you-?"

A gentle yellow hoof placed itself over her mouth. "The only pony who can fix this is you. We're all sorry, Rainbow Dash, and we all want you to come home. But if you don't want to, then... that's fine too."

Ultramare opened her eyes and looked down at the mare lying in front of her. Between her tear-filled eyes and Fluttershy was a brilliant red glow. "But what about Ponyville?" She asked.

"Maybe they might never accept you again", Twilight said, "but we will, no matter what choice you make."

She closed her eyes again, hardly needing to see at all now, and smiled. "Let's do this, girls."

From every corner in Ponyville, the Rainbow of Light could be seen plain as day as it flew into the sky. It danced in the air, bending and twisting as it did, before coming down upon itself and the six mares who had summoned it. Soon afterwords the six touched down upon the grassy ground outside Sugarcube Corner.

"Thank you", whispered the rainbow-maned Pegasus, before she lied down upon the ground, having finally found peace with herself.

Comments

[Celestias Paladin]

I really don't know what to say, I never saw that episode so I can't really judge on how Dash would act. But still you did a great job at writing this story. Thank you for sharing it with us.

In the Name of Her Serene Majesty.
Celestia's Paladin: For Honor and Duty, For the Sun and Moon

[Medivh]

I kinda figured... But wow. That was a good read. Hope to see more from you soon!

[mbpony 512]

I never did look at that episode, but I did know what happen from the reactions post. Still, this is a great storyline idea as it truly focuses on the one thing that this episode lacked....and that was own feelings about the entire situation.

I mean, while Rainbow Dash maybe a bit of a jerk, she does have feelings too and for her to be embrassed by her friends like that in front of the entire town truly must of hurt her alot inside. We may not have seen it in the show, but you can't help but wonder... am I right ?

Still I encourage you upon such good work and keep it up as this tale reaches its end.

Really liked the story and all, but one thing confuses me:

SPOILER WARNING

In the final part, at the end, it says Dash "laid down and found peace with herself"...does that mean she died or something? That's what it sounds like...
Though if it's just her coming back to normal, that's good.

[Dragomena]

55508

Oh no no no, Dash is sleeping at the end. Should probably have made that clearer.

[Dragomena]

55691

Was a bit skeptical about that, but I went over a few of my paragraphs and gave them that treatment in Notepad to see what it was like. Duly noted, I'll try not to make this mistake again in the future.

[Dragomena]

56132

Aaaand reformatting is finished. Thank you, Jphyper.

[SaiKar]

The edited version looks great. Very easy to get absorbed in. Excellent work, my friend!

[Anonthony]

Well, it took me a while to get through it because of distractions, but here we go! Top of the matter, I enjoyed reading, and that's the prime directive. Especially since I don't read fics, this being 1 of a grand total of 3 now. But I also dislike just leaving a "hey I liked it, thanks", so I'll give some critique/review. Dunno if you've probably had your fill or not, but I'll do it anyways.

Characterization, 8/10, very strong in characterizing Dash and the central issue. Could perhaps have used more thought process or inner monologue, but then again it might have hammered the point too hard.
Atmosphere, 7/10, there was enough descriptors and background to give me a decent 'feel' for it, and obviously every referenced area brings easily to mind places we have well visualized in our heads, but it could have used a bit more - not necessarily overt descriptions, but things like how the character is affected by it, perceptions, etc.
Pacing 7/10, maybe just me being drawn away by work a few times, but it moved at different speeds with just a touch too little transition between rhythms.
Mechanics: 8/10, very few issues or distractions for the reader of a mechanical nature, perhaps paragraph indentation but I honestly didn't even notice it at first.
Story - conception, 8/10, very smart story, not only a fun thing to think about (any given character's flaws or weaknesses drawing them into this kind of state) but the arc of its resolution was thematic to the show as well.
Story - execution, 7/10, the intro-setup-conflict-climax-resolution dynamic was in place, and flowed well from one set-piece to another; there were a few things I didn't grasp. The necessity of the Mare-Do-Well gambit seemed out of place slightly, knowing that she already knew it was them. Was it so that she wouldn't know which one was which? And so easily discarded. I don't know what else could have been used as an impetus for the resolution, but something else with more oomph would put it over the top as a great story.
- In summation, 7.5/10:
Well conceived, thematic enough to the show, but differing sufficiently for the more serious tone without being over-the-top. Aside from different climax possibilites, few distracting issues of mechanics, strong central character work, worthwhile idea and satisfying resolution, with minor issues of background and feel.

[Yubella]

Well that sucked