Twilight Sparkle stared at the newspaper below her without uttering a word. Spread across its front page was a black-and-white image of workers and staff rushing out of Tartarus’ dark recesses and onto the grassy field outside. The headline read: “BAD DUDE STRIKES AGAIN!” The subtitle below that stated in bold text: “Several dozen Tartarus employees injured and left in hospital—hundreds of others left startled and mildly confused”.

With numb hooves, Twilight shoved the paper away from her and absently drank some of the tea she’d made for herself earlier. One sip later, she realized she’d been staring at the newspaper for so long, her tea had already become cold.

She sighed glumly. She’d just gotten a new book in the mail that day, too. “The Art of Sucking: A Comprehensive History of Vacuum Cleaner Models”. Now she had a rather strong notion she wouldn’t end up getting a chance to read a single fascinating word of it until sometime later.

Twilight had always found vacuum cleaners rather fascinating. Terrifying, but fascinating all the same.

“I just heard the news, darling!” Rarity chirped from the entrance of Twilight’s meeting room deep inside her castle. “How unsettling this all is!”

Twilight spun around to face her friend. “Thank Celestia you’re here, Rarity. I really wasn’t sure how fast everyone would get here after I had Spike light up the Friendship Signal.”

Up in the sky, high above Twilight Sparkle’s castle was the bright image of a purple star. Only minutes prior had Twilight asked Spike to climb up onto their roof and set fire to the stack of logs underneath the stained-glass frame that made up the massive signal.

Rarity took a seat next to Twilight around her table, giving a sigh. “So unsettling! Do you have any idea how hard it was to get extra capes in stock at the very last minute? My word, I think I was close to pulling out my mane trying to track down what I could.”

Twilight raised a sharp brow. “Capes? You’re worried about capes?”

“Why, yes,” Rarity answered with a nod. “Didn’t you know? Since that Tartarus incident, cape sales have gone up a full fourteen percent. Fourteen percent, Twilight! I can see it now, already—next year’s number one Nightmare Night costume among young colts! Bad Dude!”

Twilight visibly ground her teeth. “One thing we do not want is foals thinking what Bad Dude is doing is somehow cool! He obviously…” Twilight had to think on that. “He obviously just doesn’t understand what he’s doing. I just can’t see someone that young wanting to be a real life villain out of nowhere. There just has to be more to it than what we’re seeing here.”

“I’ll tell ya what I’m seeing here!” Applejack announced from the doorway, bookended by both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, hovering and bouncing by her sides. Fluttershy, huddled close to the ground, remained behind the three of them out in the hallway.

Applejack stormed into the room ahead of the rest of them. “A colt in serious need of a spanking! Nothing too harsh—only enough so he’s learnt a lesson. Shoulda’ done that right after he had his little visit with the Princesses, honestly.”

“But it’s not as simple as that, Applejack,” Twilight tried to explain, as they all took their seats around the table. “No one besides Princess Celestia, Luna, and a couple of guards even had a chance to talk with Bad Dude before he disappeared. And it was only after he left and promised not to be a villain anymore that the Princesses became ill.”

Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Twilight. “So let me get this straight. There’s a colt out there called Bad Dude and he hurts other ponies simply by being cute?”

Twilight nodded. “It may have started by accident, but now given this Tartarus incident, I’m more than certain Bad Dude’s learnt what he can and cannot do… or is in the process of it.”

Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves over her chest. “Still don’t buy it. Fluttershy’s cute, but she’s not going around giving ponies heart problems just by being that way.”

“I saw Bad Dude once!” Pinkie Pie trumpeted, holding a hoof in the air.

“And was he cute?” Rainbow Dash asked dryly.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes rolled upwards and she suddenly appeared on the verge of drooling. “Oh… yeah… he was so cute! I mean… imagine three full-sized Fluttershys squished down to half their normal size and then sprinkled with sugar!”

Applejack grimaced. “Since when was Bad Dude covered in sugar? I never heard about that. They leave that out of the papers or something?”

“Not with real sugar, Applejack!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Imagination sugar! It makes just about everything you could possibly imagine even sweeter than usual!”

Gingerly, Twilight tapped a hoof against the table. “Getting back on track for a moment…” She took a moment to lick her lips and found them oddly dry. “I won’t sugarcoat it, girls—or imagination sugarcoat it, either—if what this paper says is true, then that means that somehow all of our major past enemies are now working together, including Discord.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Discord helped get Tirek out of Tartarus, too? Really? I mean… I’m not surprised Discord decided to go bad again—I think most of us were about to give it another year at most—but, Discord actually forgiving Tirek? Something’s not right about that.”

“I agree, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke solemnly, “which is why I think Bad Dude might end up being the biggest source of our possible troubles.” She pushed her chair away from the table to walk to a blackboard attached to the wall. On it was an immense chart full of various labels and graphs—even a few worrying statistics near its bottom. “If I can direct your attention to this chart I made.”

Applejack sighed aloud. “Another chart, Twilight? Is it really necessary here?”

“Oh, this?” Twilight replied. “This is actually Chart 2.0. The first chart was way too complicated, so I had to simplify things down a bit, but I guess I had to, otherwise—”

“Maybe you want to hurry up a bit, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash cut in bluntly. “You know, before Bad Dude decides to blow up a volcano or something while we’re all sitting here going over charts?”

Twilight’s cheeks reddened a bit as she roughly cleared her throat. “As I was saying before: make a list of all our past villains and what stands out about them? They all work more or less alone. Discord, Queen Chrysalis and her hive, King Sombra, Tirek after he betrayed Discord. But now a new villain comes along—an up and coming villain named Bad Dude that just so happens to ‘accidentally’ incapacitate both of Equestria’s leaders—and suddenly they’re all working together, side by side? What has changed here? What is different now?”

“They’ve discovered that their hatred for us overwhelms their possible hatred for each other?” Rarity suggested hopefully.

“Not quite,” Twilight answered calmly. “One word: friendship.”

Four of the seated mares exhaled in anguish. All besides the more-or-less motionless Fluttershy.

“Oh, please don’t go on another longwinded friendship speech!” Rainbow Dash begged. “We get it already! We’re friends! Friends work together and help each other! Just because you’re the ‘Princess of Friendship’ doesn’t mean you gotta talk about friendship every single day!”

“And yet no one mentions Applejack’s apple obsession…” Twilight grumbled to no one in particular.

Applejack’s ears perked up. “Someone say something about apples over there?”

“Anyways,” Twilight started again, “what’s become clear is that Bad Dude is using the same friendship lessons that you and I all hold dear to create his own team of super villains.” She looked downcast for a moment. “And although it had always been my plan to show our opposition the true power of friendship at some point in the coming years… it seems obvious that Bad Dude is doing it just fine on his own. The downside being they’ve all become friends that share one unifying goal.”

“Well…” Rarity began delicately, “are we certain that that goal of theirs is bad for us? So they’ve formed a little group and got Tirek out of Tartarus? Maybe Bad Dude and them just wanted him free so they could… oh, I don’t know, all go to the beach or something?”

One of Applejack’s eyebrows rose so high it disappeared underneath her mane. “King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis frolicking at the beach? What fantasy world you living in, Rarity?”

“I’m only making conversation, Applejack” Rarity scoffed. “Maybe try looking on the bright side of things every once in a while? Hmm?”

Still standing before her chart, Twilight gravely shook her head at them. “There’s more elements at play here, I’m afraid. I’ve recently talked with Shining Armor and Cadence and have learned that just a few days ago the crystal statue of Spike was destroyed far beyond repair.” She chewed on her tongue. “I still haven’t told Spike about it, actually. He even talks about traveling to the Crystal Empire just to polish it sometimes.”

“An accident, perhaps?” Rarity suggested, with a smile already on the verge of cracking.

“There was a colt found near the scene when it happened,” Twilight continued, “and a dark stallion in a cloak that traveled around with him. Ponies remember the pair asking around the city for a tailor and only buying a single glass of lemonade each during their visit—highly unusual behavior, from what Shining Armor tells me.” She paused, almost hesitating having to explain further. “That same tailor they were searching for was found injured that day… and enough materials were used up from his shop to create at least two brand new capes.”

“So Sombra’s already attacked someone?” Rainbow Dash asked alarmed.

“The tailor had massive chest pains alongside heavy bouts of squeeing throughout his hospitalization… meaning he’d start sounding like a boiling teakettle randomly, and that anything even remotely cute had to be segregated away from him.”

“So…” Rainbow Dash cocked a brow, “it was Bad Dude’s work, then?”

Twilight gave a nod. “Afraid so. Close to the same effects as what the Princesses had. That means that Bad Dude was in the Crystal Empire. That also means King Sombra was there, too, and that has myself thinking he’s not done with his old empire. Not by a long shot.”

Hurriedly flapping her wings, Rainbow Dash shot into the air and pretended to punch at someone in front of her. “Easy! Then we just march on over to the Crystal Empire and kick all their flanks the moment they try and take it back! We could even bring all the guards in Canterlot with us! It would be a cakewalk!”

“But you’re not seeing the bigger picture here, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight warned her. “If we put everyone we have in the Empire, then we end up spreading ourselves out too thin. What if they attack Canterlot instead? What if they do something we have no hope of even defending against? With Discord on their team, the question of just what they might do next becomes exponentially more difficult.” She turned to Fluttershy to gently ask, “I know this must be hard for you, Fluttershy, given that Discord was your friend and all… but did he say anything about this group before? Or about this colt named Bad Dude?”

Hidden behind a wide lock of mane, Fluttershy wouldn’t look up from the table. When all eyes in the room descended upon her, she blushed heavily and her mouth became as thin as a pencil line.

“I… might’ve…” she spoke in a voice so small it was only due to Twilight’s castle’s excellent acoustics that anyone was able to hear it at all, “…spent an afternoon with him.”

“With Discord?” Twilight nudged her along.

“With Discord… and Bad Dude, too…”

Most mares around the table gasped. Not Fluttershy, though, who only became even more crimson in the face than before.

“They were both with you?” Rainbow Dash asked, perhaps a bit too forcefully.

Fluttershy’s eyes watered. “I didn’t know Discord’s new friend was Bad Dude! I just thought…” She hitched in a small breath. “I just thought Discord was making new friends and I wanted to help. And he was just… so cute! Too cute! Cute enough that all I wanted to do was shove freshly baked cookies down his throat and love him and kiss him and squeeze him and call him—”

“We get it!” Applejack interrupted. “He’s a cute, little sh—” She caught herself. “He’s a cute, little sweetie. Nuff said. Anything you can remember that could help us out, though, sugarcube?”

“He said his name was Sugary Topping,” Fluttershy eventually answered evenly, “and I’m pretty sure he likes to bake, because he made Discord and I such wonderful treats and snacks during our picnic.”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes bulged from their sockets. “He makes treats and snacks!?” She whirled around to pounce on Fluttershy. “Any idea if they’re still hiring, huh? I could do evil! Sure, I could! Just deflate the mane a bit and—”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Applejack told her adamantly. “Bad Dude’s group already has Discord; they don’t need another physics breaker on their team.”

Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin. “Sugary Topping? Too simple to be real. Must be an alias of his. That means Bad Dude’s clever… or as clever as a colt his age could be.”

In a blur of light-blue wind, Rainbow Dash zipped to Twilight’s side. “All this talk about terrible things that could happen and things that we don’t even know! I’m sick of it! So tell us, Twilight! What can we do? Right here! Right now!”

Twilight pursed her lips, then shut her eyes.

“We need to make sure they don’t get their hooves on anymore possible villains.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie’s latest show ended with more of a whimper than a bang. Although the show technically did end with a bang—when a loud cannon shot out several pounds worth of multi-colored confetti over the crowd—the cheers that followed it paled in comparison to the noise of the explosion itself.

This might’ve been because Twilight and her friends were basically the only ponies in attendance, besides a couple that walked out after the first ten minutes and a filly asleep on her mother’s lap.

Regardless, the moment Trixie’s final magical act came to an end, Twilight and the rest of her cohorts applauded as thunderous as their hooves would allow. Twilight even kicked Rainbow Dash in the side when she caught her not applauding alongside the rest of them.

Up on the stage, Trixie narrowed her eyes in the bright spotlight shining onto her. “Thank you! Thank you all!” she bellowed out, before taking a bow. When the applause just kept on rolling in, her expression of joy turned to one of mild curiosity. She brought a hoof to her lips to whistle. “House lights, please! Trixie wishes to see her wonderful audience face to face!”

One click! noise later and Twilight and her friends were uncovered in the show tent that served as Trixie’s venue. As their group’s applause faded away, so did Trixie’s original glee. Now she stood shooting daggers at all six of them.

“Trixie should have known you’d come around eventually,” she growled, before she lifted her chin up high and trotted behind the large curtain at the back of the stage.

“I can’t tell,” Rarity whispered to no one in particular, “but is this going well? I don’t think it is.”

Twilight sighed. “Come on. Let’s go talk to her, at least.”

Since no one was actually running the venue besides Trixie and her horn, Twilight and the rest of them were able to slip inside the back with no interference whatsoever. When they entered, they found Trixie at a glamour mirror with her trademark hat hanging on her chair. She ran a damp cloth around her eyes, removing the faint amount of makeup she had on.

“Did Trixie say you could come back here?” she asked them coldly.

“Uhh… not exactly,” Twilight started awkwardly, “but we just had to tell you how much we enjoyed your show!”

Using her aura, Trixie ran a hairbrush across her sweat-drenched mane. “Is that so?”

Twilight kicked Rainbow Dash again.

“Oh… right!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Like when that card disappeared from your hoof and then… came back! I was all like, ‘Did you see that?’ and then everyone was like, ‘Yes, we did,’ and then I realized how dumb that question was because we were all watching the same thing at the exact same time.”

Rarity stepped forward. “And I liked that trick where you leapt through that ring of fire! That first time you did it was simply wonderful! Maybe not so much the next twelve times, though.”

Fluttershy giggled to herself. “My favorite part was when that cute cockroach popped out of your hat near the end.”

Trixie grunted. “That wasn’t part of the act; Trixie didn’t get to clean her costume as much as she would’ve liked while on the road.”

“Well,” Twilight continued on gamely, “just thought we’d come back here and tell you how much we all enjoyed the show, so—”

Laughing wildly, Trixie leapt from her seat to stare at them, a sharp grin curling her lips. “Trixie knows exactly why you’re here, Princess Twilight; don’t think her to be a fool. This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain Bad Dude making his mark upon the world, now would it?”

Twilight and the rest of them feigned ignorance. “What? Who’s that? Never heard of that name before.” She lifted her shoulders. “Can’t Twilight and her girl pals just catch a show featuring their very good friend Trixie?”

Trixie’s smirk widened. “Since when were Twilight and Trixie ever friends?”

“Since the last time we hung out, obviously!” Twilight replied weakly. “You know… that whole necklace business in Ponyville?”

“So the answer to Trixie’s question is: not in years?” Trixie asked snidely, beginning to pace around in front of them. “Not once in all that time did Trixie get a single invitation from any of you: no lunch dates; no grand galas to attend; no friendship problems to solve; no great, big dragons to battle. Trixie was free, girls. She could’ve enjoyed a nice slumber party inside of Twilight’s new castle at any ol’ time.”

Twilight held a hoof to her. “But you still could! We all could! Doesn’t a sleepover sound fun everyone?”

The group nodded along sluggishly.

“Too bad!” Trixie erupted. “You missed your opportunity, Twilight! As did the rest of you! Well,” she stopped to tip Pinkie Pie a wink, “you’re all right, Trixie guesses. Trixie believes you’ve seen more of her shows than even her own parents have.”

“I have!” Pinkie Pie readily agreed with a grin. “Because they always manage to get worse and by this point I don’t know how that’s possible anymore!”

Trixie sighed. “Trixie will forget that slight against her. Her future is looking more bright and beautiful with each passing second!”

Rainbow Dash flew up to Trixie to tap her on the nose. “Let’s cut the crap, Trixie! Did Bad Dude come to talk to you or not?”

Trixie flashed her a grin. “He did. He even brought me tiramisu for some reason. He said it was going to either be that or tapioca or truffles or tarts. Either way, it was quite nummy.”

“Do we get any points for bringing you a fruit basket, then?” asked Applejack, as she set down a large, wicker basket loaded with fresh produce before her.

“Too late, yet again,” Trixie replied, directing their attention toward the other side of the room, where a basket big enough to hold six ponies loomed. Inside of it were various fruits each the size of beach balls. A shiny apple near the front looked as if it was recently dipped in gold.

Applejack growled at it. “I don’t trust ‘em. Those apples ain’t natural, I tell yeah!”

“What else have they promised you?” Rarity asked Trixie cautiously.

Trixie’s eyes slowly drifted towards Twilight again. “Why… only Twilight’s very own castle, once everything is said and done. Hope you don’t mind it when Trixie redecorates the place once you’re gone, Twilight. Hope you like purple.”

Twilight tightly clenched her jaws. “I happen to love purple! I am purple for Celestia’s sake!”

Trixie had to think on that—some of the wind evidentially knocked out of her metaphorical sails. Still, she perked up when something else came to mind.

She presented Twilight with a new, slimy smile. “You’re scared, aren’t you, Princess? This is new to you—a colt using the magic of friendship against you.” She paused for a moment to add to the moment. “Truth be told, Trixie has made no promises to anyone, although Bad Dude has proven to be more than persuasive. Just this afternoon Trixie gave him an adorable belly rub that she would now consider as the second greatest moment of her life.”

“What’s the first moment?” Applejack asked.

Trixie chuckled. “Why… only her birth. Not only did it benefit Trixie, but did it not also benefit all of Equestria, as well? The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t always think about herself, you know.”

Rainbow Dash pulled at her eyelids. “AJ! Why’d you set her up like that?”

Applejack shrugged. “How was I going to know she’d say something so pigheaded?”

Twilight stomped a hoof in front of Trixie. “All right! Enough of this! Are you planning on joining Bad Dude’s group or not? Or in other terms: do we need to worry about you doing something bad to us in the future? Other than relentless showboating, I mean?”

For a brief moment, Trixie only stood her ground and glared at her. Eventually, she told Twilight quietly, “Trixie would rather see you sweat it out, so that means no answers for you, Princess Twilight. Although the thought of all your castle’s toilets suddenly becoming clogged fills Trixie with an odd amount of glee.”

Applejack furrowed her brows. “If you took over Twilight’s castle and were living there, why would you hope all the toilets get clogged? That only means that you’d need to deal with them.”

Trixie had to think about that. “Trixie means… she was only saying that… oh, whatever! Trixie is done here!”

The next moment, Trixie threw a silver ball against the ground that exploded into a mound of grey smoke. When the smoke finally dissipated, Twilight and the others found Trixie back in the chair before her mirror, eyelash curler held up in her aura.

Trixie rolled her eyes at them. “Isn’t that enough of a hint to leave? Trixie wasn’t just about to run away from her own backstage area, thank you very much.”

So, with rejected fruit basket in hoof, Twilight and her friends left Trixie’s tent even more dejected than when they’d first entered it. And, perhaps worst of all, Twilight found that Trixie had been right about something for once.

Twilight was scared.

Author's Notes:

Back with the heroes of this story next chapter! You know... the murderous villains...

Why are you reading this? You know how this ends!