//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 2 Threats are Worse Than 1 // Story: Super Stallion // by PioneerofImagination //------------------------------// Squeaky Clean had been busy as of late, searching for 3 certain troublemakers as Super Stallion. But in the meantime, he still made time to enjoy himself. Such as going to Ponyville’s annual Running of the Leaves, he even came in 4th place, right ahead of Twilight. He'd also gotten more casual with Princess Celestia. One day Princess Celestia called him into her chambers for scrubbing and mopping and before long he and the princess started talking. "So wait, you and Luna banished King Sombra all the way to the icy north? Or more north than where he already was?" Squeaky asked.  "Yes but with his final act of evil, the entire Crystal Empire vanished, without a single trace." Princess Celestia answered who was resting comfortably on her bed.  "Wow! So what happened to it?"  "I don't know it's been more than 1000 years and neither it or any of the Crystal Ponies have appeared. It's funny, these days very few ponies recall its existence at all. I'm surprised you know about it at all."  "My grandfather used to tell me all the time about the Crystal Empire from the bits he already knew. I used to just think it was all only make believe, but I bet a lot of ponies used to say the same about Nightmare Moon."           "That's true," Princess Celestia said, who gave out a chuckle. "You were also telling me about another bad guy. What was his name?" Squeaky paused trying to remember. "Tunic?" "Tirek," Princess Celestia corrected.  "Right right! So what was his problem again?" "He wanted to steal the magic from Equestria but since his brother warned Luna and I, we were able to stop him before he did any harm and imprison him in Tartarus." "Wait, I thought it was pronounced Tartaros?" "Either or." As Squeaky nearly finished when suddenly his mop slipped out of his hoof. Squeaky and Princess Celestia reached for it at the same time and their hooves touched. When that happened they looked up and into each other's eyes. "Wow," Squeaky said. "What?" The princess asked. "It's just, I never noticed how your eyes are like rose quartz." "Really?" The princess chuckled again. "It's funny most ponies that compliment my eyes say pink diamonds." "Same thing," Squeaky who gave a shrug said. "Are you sure about that?" "Oh yeah trust me, rose quartz, pink diamond, same thing." "Well I'll take your word for it." Princess Celestia then grabbed the mop and gave it back to Squeaky. "Thank you," Squeaky said, taking the mop.  "Your welcome, listen Squeaky the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up and I was wondering- " Before the princess could finish her thought a royal guard bursted through the doors.  "Your highness there's been another robbery!"  "What already?" She asked standing up. "Sorry Squeaky we'll have to finish another time." Princess Celestia then exited her chambers with the guard.  "W-Wait," Squeaky said, chasing after her a bit but stopping out in the hall. "What was she going to ask me? She mentioned the Grand Galloping Gala. Was she gonna ask me to go with her? Like a date!" Squeaky was suddenly overwhelmed with joy. "Me and the princess, at the Grand Galloping Gala, that's like something out of a fairy tale." Squeaky started dancing with his mop like it was the princess.  "What are you doing?" Stone Wall asked, snapping his friend out of his fantasy. "Well-"  "Never mind I don't care, I need to talk to the princess." "You just missed her, a guard came in talking about a robbery." "What robbery?"  "He didn't say, just that there was another one."  "Another one?" Stone Wall paused for a second to think. "It must be him again."  "Him who?" "Some criminal that goes by the name Gentleman Thief has been running around committing robberies without a trace except his calling card. Yesterday he made off with some jewels at a museum."   "If the guard from before was talking about him then that means he's stolen twice in as many days."  "Yes, he's only done this about half a dozen times but he's quickly made a name for himself."   "Why haven't I heard about this before?" Squeaky asked as the princess was returning. "Do you listen to or read the news?" "Not really." "Well there you go." "I guess I can just ask the princess when she gets back." "Squeaky." "AUGH!" Squeaky jumped as the princess said his name. He turned around fast with his hoof on his chest and taking deep breaths. "DON'T DO THAT! You're worse than Stone Wall." Just then Stone Wall grabbed Squeaky by the back of the neck and pulled him in close. "Don't. Ever. Yell at the princess." Before Squeaky could respond Princess Celestia grabbed Squeaky by his neck and pulled him closer to her. "Settle down Stone Wall," Princess Celestia said, now sitting with her hoof still around Squeaky. She then placed her other hoof on Squeaky's chest. "Are you okay Squeaky? I'm sorry I frightened you." Oh my gosh her hooves feel so great on me, Squeaky thought to himself. "Yeah I'm all right," he answered. "I guess I'm just tired of getting snuck up on." "If you don't like it just keep your guard up," Stone Wall said. "How do I do that?" "Be aware of your surroundings, heighten your senses, and adapt to surprises in your situation."      "That's what he tells us," the guard from before said who returned with the princess and a newspaper. "I came to show the princess what was in the newspaper." "Why didn't you just bring her the paper?" Stone Wall asked. "That's what I asked," the princess said.  “I guess I got a little excited,” the guard answered. "Can I see the paper?" The guard gave Squeaky the paper and read on the front page of the robbery made by none other than the Gentleman Thief.  "Looks like your hunch was right, Stone Wall." "Is that why you're here?" Princess Celestia asked. "No Princess Celestia, I came to help prepare for your next visit to Ponyville in a week or so."  "Ah yes I'll help you with that now." Stone Wall and Princess Celestia entered her chambers to discuss it while Squeaky and the guard went their separate ways and back to work.  "I think she really was going to ask me out on a date," Squeaky said to himself. "She was practically wrapped around me. She couldn't take her hooves off me." Suddenly he hugged his mop in a romantic gesture. "Me and the princess at the Grand Galloping Gala."  ***            In the quiet of the night an owner of a small jewelry store in Manehattan had locked up and headed home. Completely unaware of the late night shopper that entered his store.      "My, my such a rich collection of minerals, how to choose which ones to take. Perhaps the best selection should be decided on the ones of highest value." The Gentleman Thief quickly made his way around the store grabbing the jewels he found worthy of stealing. "I'll have to remember to acquire a larger bag for these future withdrawals." With the selected jewels acquired he left his calling card before vanishing into the night. The next morning the owner called the police and some royal guards came, as well including Stone Wall.  "Unbelievable 7 robberies and not a single clue," Stone Wall said in obvious annoyance.  "Well actually captain- " "I meant besides that stupid calling card of his."  "Oh right," Spear Head replied.  "Keep searching everypony," Stone Wall said to the guards. "I just don't get it," Shining Armor said to Stone Wall. "From what we could tell, this place had some seriously tight security. How could this guy get in without setting off a single alarm?" "That's what I want to figure out, Shining Armor and I'm not leaving this place until I do." "Really?" "No not really, maybe just for another hour. But I still want us to find something."  "Well maybe I can lend a hoof," Super Stallion said as he flew into the store catching the attention of every single pony there.  "Wow! Super Stallion oh my gosh!" Shining Armor said barely able to contain himself, even jumping up and down like a young colt. "Can I please have your autograph?"  "Shining Armor, didn't I ask you to search this place?"  "But captain, when am I gonna get a chance like this again?" "You can get it later." "But- " "Later." Shining Armor then reluctantly did as his captain told him. "Listen, do you think maybe you can come by the castle later today and give him an autograph?" "Sure no problem but first I thought I'd help you with this crime scene." "Much appreciated. Are you going to use super speed to search the crime scene in seconds? Or maybe you can look at things at a microscopic level?" Super Stallion paused. "I thought I'd just look for hoof prints.” "I see," Stone Wall said. “Suppose I’ve been reading too many comic books.” Everypony worked together to try and find anything that could help them find the criminal. As Super Stallion was searching around, Shining Armor moved a piece of paper on the ground closer to him. "So if you could make it out to Shining Armor and say something cool like- " "SHINING!"  "Sorry captain!" Shining Armor moved to the other side of the store and continued looking for clues. But after about 30 minutes Stone Wall decided everypony should head out. Super Stallion especially was disappointed they found nothing.  "Now on top of finding 3 troublemakers, I have to keep an eye out for this new guy." Super Stallion then started flying back to Canterlot when he suddenly noticed Cloudsdale tied in a knot.  “How’s that for not good enough!?” A pegasus mare called out quickly getting Super Stallion’s attention. "This is going to be one of those days isn't it?" Super Stallion asked himself as he flew over to the said mare. “Well well, Super Stallion.” The mare said. “I’d love to stay and chat but, actually I don’t want to chat. I think my actions speak for themselves,” the mare said as she guessed to Cloudsdale. “You think it’s okay to utterly wreck a city? Who do you think you are?” Super Stallion asked. “Or after I take you down and stop whatever plan you have, should I just call you the washout.” “How about you just call me the Weather Warper.” And with that, a tornado appeared out of nowhere that made Super Stallion spin out of control. When he got control of himself the tornado disappeared and the Weather Warper was gone. “Another crazy running around, yep gonna be one of those days.” Super Stallion quickly flew over to help the ponies in need who were more than grateful.   "I thought this was going to be a rather bad day but I get to meet Super Stallion himself!" Soarin said with excitement as he shook Super Stallion’s hoof. "Thanks for helping, we really needed the extra hoof," Spitfire said. “No problem, but what was that mare’s deal?” “You mean the Weather Warper?” Spitfire asked. “No idea. She just showed up out of nowhere and did what she did.” “She yelled a few other things, but it was hard to hear her over the screams of the other ponies,” Soarin added. "What's with that staff she was holding?" Super Stallion asked. "We're not sure but from what I saw it might be the source of her unusual powers," Fleetfoot answered.  "Well with any luck it'll make her stick out even more, I'm off." Super Stallion then flew straight towards Canterlot as Soarin decided to double check to see if anypony in Cloudsdale needed help. "You were right, Captain, Super Stallion is super sexy." "Fleetfoot, now is not the time! But yes he is a mega cutie."   *** Super Stallion returned to Canterlot because Squeaky Clean's break was almost over. On top of 5 abnormal criminals on the loose, he didn't need Stone Wall breathing down his neck. "Well time to make the floors sparkle and shine again." Suddenly the door of the closet Squeaky sneaked into opened by Stone Wall. "Squeaky what are you doing in here?" Stone Wall asked confused to find his friend in a closet of all places.  "Just relaxing," Squeaky quickly answered to cover for himself.  "You spend your break relaxing in a small cramped room filled with stuff you use on your job?" "It's my quiet time."  "Well your quiet time is over so get to the kitchen, a couple of the guards took the term mess hall a bit too literally." Squeaky then grabbed his supplies and passed Stone Wall.  "Well that settles it, all these long hours are screwing with his head," Stone Wall said.  Squeaky entered the kitchen and found his beautiful boss Princess Celestia was also there. "Hello Squeaky, how are you today?"  "Fine now that you're here." Did I honestly say that out loud?  Hearing that Princess Celestia giggled a bit. "Thank you, it's nice to see you too." "Right that's what I meant." Did I say that out loud too?! "So I heard you're making another trip to Ponyville?" Squeaky asked eager to change the subject.  "Yes, rather a casual visit really. Philomena even wants to come."  "I bet you're going to see Twilight again. If you do tell I said hi please," Squeaky asked while also moving his mop with his horn. This let him talk to the princess and do his job at the same time. "Sure thing Squeaky." After talking to the princess for a few minutes Squeaky noticed Stone Wall was standing not too far behind him.     "Oh hey Stone Wall, guess I've already gotten better at keeping my guard up huh?" "Yes, I see you've also cleaned the kitchen floor quite well." "Well it's not quite finished yet." "It'll do for now but there's a few other places to get to on the next floor." "Oh, okay." Squeaky grabbed his supplies and went out the door. On his next break he would make sure to slip out again to become Super Stallion and give Stone Wall the autograph to give to Shining Armor who would be very grateful.  "It's not like you to let somepony go when they aren't completely finished." "Well this time I made an exception, we need to talk about Squeaky." *** Later that night, the Gentleman Thief had found a new target. An art gallery in Canterlot. "These paintings are a bit too modern and drab for my taste. I'm a thief but I still have standards. Perhaps there'll be more classical art deeper into the gallery." After sneaking further in the gallery the Gentleman Thief bumped into another late night trespasser. Or at least he would have if  the other intruder wasn’t an expert on observing her surroundings.  "Who are you!?" Weather Warper asked, surprised. "Who am I? I believe the question is who are you my dear?" Gentleman Thief asked. "I'm the Weather Warper and I'm going to put you in the center of a thunderstorm if you don't answer my questions!" The Weather Warper snapped back, starting to get angry. "Weather Warper? I think I can safely assume from your name alone that you do not work here." "Oh no haven't you heard, this colorful costume of mine are the new security uniforms," Weather Warper responded sarcastically. "Amusing, I am the Gentleman Thief and I have come to plunder and pillage, so to speak."  "Gentleman Thief, wait a minute I've heard of you. You steal from places and leave a card so everyone knows it was you." "Correct my dear. Now why are you here?"  "I was just looking for a place to find for the night and when I flew into the city this seemed the easiest to slip in and hide from security until morning." "Rather a profound theory, the security in this location is severely lacking." "You talk funny.” "If I might inquire, have you come to rob this place as well?" Gentleman Thief asked. "What? No, I'm just hiding here until morning so I can show off what this staff can do."   "And what can your staff do?"  "You and all of Canterlot will know soon enough." "I see, so from that I can take you on putting on a rather large show. Perhaps I can help, perhaps we can help each other." "What do you have in mind?"  *** The next day Weather Warper made a giant cloud in Canterlot getting the attention of every single pony there. Squeaky Clean quickly changed into Super Stallion and flew straight into the cloud that was already shooting lightning at some of the buildings and spitting out hail, snow, and rain all at the same time.  "Of course this happens on one of my days off." Super Stallion made it into the giant cloud and looked around for Weather Warper but the cloud was so dense he could barely see past his own muzzle. "I know how to clear things up." Super Stallion then released a giant burst of magic that cleared away the entire cloud but when the sky became open and clear the Weather Warper was nowhere to be found. "Where'd she go, can she disappear and reappear at will or something?"    After becoming Squeaky Clean again, he made his way towards the closet jewelry store to buy the princess a gift. But when he got to the store to his surprise as well as the owner, it was recently robbed. The owner explained that he stepped outside to get a closer look at the cloud causing the strange weather and saw his store like this upon his return. After hearing this, Squeaky went to the castle to tell Stone Wall all about it. "This doesn't make sense," Stone Wall said while still looking through the crime scene. "From the other reports I've read about him he always robs in the middle of the night, not the day."  "He's right," Shining Armor added. "You're right, captain, this doesn't make sense."  "And no clues or signs of forced entry. I was hoping there'd be more change in his pattern than just the time." Stone Wall searched the store, but once again found no clues. "Come on, we're going back to the castle." "Captain, can I buy this pink necklace first?" Shining Armor asked. "Why?" "A gift for Cadance."  "Fine but be quick about it." "Yes sir. Thank you sir, Cadance will love this."  After the guards left Squeaky bought a hoof bracelet for the princess. The owner was happy to still make bits after getting robbed. Elsewhere in Canterlot, one of the less populated areas Equestria's latest trouble-making duo had come back together.   "So how did you do?" Weather Warper asked. "I was able to grab about half the stuff in the store," Gentleman Thief answered. "I would have gotten the other half but your distraction wasn't distracting for very long." "I wanted to make it last longer as well as make it spell out my name, but Super Stallion showed up. Luckily it was dense enough for me to slip away without him noticing me." "Yes, fortunate indeed, in the long run half a haul is better than no haul. I think we'll make a great team." "Yeah this was a good idea, by the way how are you able to get in and out of places so quickly?" "You aren't the only one who has a staff possessing abnormal magical properties." Gentleman Thief then flew right through a solid wall shocking Weather Warper. "Wow, where'd you go?!" Gentleman Thief then flew through a different wall and landed in front of Weather Warper. "My staff allows me to walk through solid material. With this in my hooves I can rob places with even the tightest of security." "Now that is cool. By the way, my cut."  "Yes of course, as per our deal, you provide distractions for my robberies and I give you a small cut of precious stolen items."  "Uh yeah that's pretty much what you said when you offered this partnership. Don't know why you repeated yourself."  "I guess I just like the sound of my own voice." The Gentleman Thief then gave Weather Warper a hoof full of jewels.  "So now what?" "Now we head for Las Pegasus and follow the same plan but to a more profitable degree.” The following days had involved the duo repeating their plan. It didn’t take long for Squeaky to figure out they must be working together. Super Stallion tried to stop them but their pattern was hard to predict and they were never anywhere long. So eventually Squeaky figured if Super Stallion couldn’t get to Weather Warper and Gentleman Thief, maybe he could get Gentleman Thief and Weather Warper to come to Super Stallion. With a little help from Princess Celestia. "So that's my plan," Super Stallion said to Princess Celestia and Stone Wall in the royal chambers.  "Not a bad plan really," Stone Wall said. "We can catch 2 criminals at once.” “And you’re sure they’re working together?” Princess Celestia asked Super Stallion. “Everywhere the Weather Warper goes, Gentleman Thief robs. It’s too coincidental.”  "I'd rather not risk spoiling my visit to Ponyville but those 2 have to be stopped. All right let's go along with it. But remember it might not work, so don't be too on guard for something that might not happen." "I'll stick by the princess either way but where will you be Super Stallion?" "Oh I have my ways, I’ll be hiding in plain sight."  *** "My plundering has been most fruitful since our partnership." "Yeah and I've helped you get a lot more stuff too." Weather Warper and Gentleman Thief were in a small abandoned home in Manehattan. Gentleman Thief was looking over his stolen fortune while Weather Warper read the paper for the stuff about her. As Weather Warper was about to toss the paper away, she noticed something that might grab her partner's attention. "Hey GT look at this," she said, getting Gentleman Thief to look at an article in the paper.  "Let's see, it says here that the princess is planning on donating some gems to a museum after she makes a visit to Ponyville," Gentleman Thief said as he saw a picture in the article showing a large gem and several black crystals. "It appears we've located the place for our next heist. But perhaps robbing from royalty may prove to be our undoing." "Oh don't tell me you're scared?" Weather Warper said. "As long as we have our staffs, we have nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about. Besides, I love a challenge!" "Very well as long as we are quick and decisive we should be able to pull this off. Besides from what I could tell from the picture, these gems are a must have for my collection.” "That's what I wanted to hear, so do we go with the same routine?" "No, I think this certain job of ours will require a new method of distraction." "What do you have in mind?" "Something that will get the attention of all of Ponyville right off the bat."  "I'm loving it already." *** Princess Celestia was enjoying herself at Sugarcane Corner, though the ponies that ran it were a little too quick to refill her tea cup. So much that she decided to have a little fun with her by tricking them into refilling it when it was already filled. "Gotcha." "All right you 2 knock it off, give the princess some space," Stone Wall told the Cakes who decided to go back into the kitchen.  "Thank you, Stone Wall," the Princess said, relieved.  "No problem."  "Hopefully it's all the trouble I'll have today." Princess Celestia then turned her attention to Fluttershy who was by one of the edges of the table the princess was at.  "Well you look like you're okay here I'm going out for some air." Princess Celestia found it unusual that her captain of the guard would step out, but she allowed it. Stone Wall stepped out to look for any signs of Gentleman Thief and Weather Warper. After finding no signs he returned but then was told that Princess Celestia's pet phoenix Philomena, had gone missing. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Stone Wall said to the guards. "I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR 5 MINUTES AND THIS HAPPENS!?"  "Calm down Stone Wall," Princess Celestia said while placing her hoof on his shoulder. "We'll find Philomena. I doubt she could have gotten far in her current condition."  "Fine you 2 get out and look for her." "Yes, and go look for my student Twilight. She might be able to help us." The 2 guards did as the princess asked and left but saw Ponyville was wrapped in a fog so thick that the ponies in it could hardly see past their own muzzles. One look out the window and Stone Wall could tell that it wasn't a normal fog. "Perhaps those 2 took the bait after all," Stone Wall said as the fog started to seep into Sugarcube Corner.  "I don't think so," Super Stallion said. Squeaky Clean had a day off and made his way towards Ponyville. The fog provided him cover as well making it very easy to become Super Stallion who used Super breathe to remove the fog. "Wow, he works fast," Weather Warper said, who was hiding behind one of the buildings. "We may be in over our heads this time, but I never back down from a challenge." While she was keeping an eye on Super Stallion, Gentleman Thief had already entered Sugarcube Corner while the others left to search for the rogues and a certain phoenix. "The mist has already vanished, no doubt due to Super Stallion's involvement. Such amazing abilities, but I’ve already made my way in. Now for the gems." Gentleman Thief then approached the chest ready to make a quick retreat afterwards.   SPLAT *** When Super Stallion made his plan known to Stone Wall and Princess Celestia the former wished to take some precautions. So he had some guards fetch a chest to place the huge gems inside it. Stone Wall also placed a large adhesive type glue inside the chest that would spring out when opened.   "So basically it's a glue bomb," Super Stallion said after Stone Wall explained his plan. Hearing that Princess Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. "That's a rather silly way of putting it but yeah." Princess Celestia couldn't help but laugh a little more. "But what if a guard opens it?" "Don't worry I'll tell the guards about this plan too so if we hear it open, we'll know it's the Gentleman Thief." "Pretty smart Stone Wall," Super Stallion said, moments later Shining Armor entered the room to say the guards were ready. "Oh my gosh Super Stallion! Again! Sweet, can I have your autograph?"  "Um, I already gave you one, remember?" "Yeah, but I want to give the second one to Princess Cadance. See she's my girlfriend and she likes superheroes cause she reads comic, not as much as me, hardly at all really but she's still a fan and so- " "Wow this is all very interesting Shining Armor," Stone Wall interrupted with sarcasm in his tone yet again. "But we have to prepare an escort in case you forgot."  "Oh right, is this the case for you’ll be using your highness?" "Correct."  "It's kind of large, don't you think your highness?" "That's the idea," Princess Celestia answered Shining Armor. "To catch our prey we need the right bait so to speak." "Speaking of "the bait," I saw the photo of the gems you were gonna donate. What's with the pieces of coal?" Super Stallion asked. "It's not coal, they're black crystals. Legends say that when King Sombra came to power the leader of the Crystal Empire, Princess Amore, was turned into a statue. The statue then scattered into pieces and spread to parts unknown. Some ponies believe that if all the pieces come back together, she can be restored to life. Wow." "Yeah, that is a lot to take in," Super Stallion said. "No, not that," Princess Celestia replied. "I don't usually open up about things like that. You're so easy to talk to Super Stallion." "Well," Super Stallion paused. "You're very easy to listen to." Princess Celestia laughed a bit. Stone Wall was a bit uncomfortable to be in the middle of this, but wouldn't have to for long. As suddenly the 3 of them noticed Shining Armor getting dangerously close to the case. "DON'T OPEN THAT!" Princess Celestia, Stone Wall, and Super Stallion all yelled in unison. Shining Armor froze in place. *** Gentleman Thief was on the ground stuck. Hearing the insanely loud splat, Super Stallion flew into Sugarcube Corner via the front door. "Wow, that is a lot of glue. I guess Stone Wall wanted to make sure that you'd stick around. HA! That wasn't even on purpose."  "I find nothing humorous about my current situation," Gentleman Thief said after clearing his throat a bit of the glue.  "Well let's get you washed up and maybe we can talk about all the stuff you stole." "I believe that would not benefit me very well so I'll have to decline." Gentleman Thief then used his wings, which being stucked under his cloak earlier weren’t touched by the glue, and flew right through the wall to Super Stallion's surprise. "WEATHER WARPER MAKE IT RAIN!" Hearing that, Weather Warper quickly flew into a huge cloud above Ponyville. Since the cloud was rather large and thick the rain was insanely rough and was able to wash the glue right off. "How were you able to fly through the wall like that?" Super Stallion who made it back outside asked. "These days there are numerous ponies with unique abilities, yourself included. I haven't acquired that gem but with you here I think it's time for a retreat, until next time." Gentleman Thief then flew towards a house to try and fly through it and other houses to throw Super Stallion off his trail.  "I don't think so!" Super Stallion, determined not to let another villain get away, blasted the wall before Gentleman Thief could get to it. The wall broke and numerous scattered pieces hit Gentleman Thief and he fell back on the ground, out like a light. "1 down, 1 to go. Now to do something about this rain." Just as he said that the rain stopped because Princess Celestia flew into the sky and cleared the cloud. Afterwards she landed on a small cloud and saw, Super Stallion was using another spell to magically restrain Gentleman Thief. Just as she was going to for Weather Warper, Weather Warper found her. Weather Warper, who was hiding in a small cloud, snuck up on Princess Celestia and covered her mouth with her hoof. "Don't try anything or I'll use this staff to make you feel what it's like to be inside a lightning bolt. So what you're gonna do is hoof over the gems and tell stupid stallion to release my partner or I'll make it rain lightning.” Suddenly, Weather Warper was grabbed from behind and pulled off the princess by Super Stallion. "That's no way to treat a lady."  "I'm also lady too idiot!" "Why don’t you act like one then?" "Why don’t you play dead? Matter of fact let me help you." Weather Warper then used her staff to create fog around Super Stallion and suddenly he was attacked left and right. Using the fog to hide her attacks, she must be an experienced flier to see through this fog. Super Stallion tried to clear the fog but the attacks from Weather Warper were so often he hardly had a minute to think. If I could just land 1 clean hit. But how do I do that when she keeps sneaking up on me? Be aware of your surroundings, heightened your senses, and adapt to surprises in your situation, Stone Wall said again in Super Stallion’s mind. Remembering his friends advice, Super Stallion readied for another attack choosing to rely on his super hearing. Which was exactly what he needed as Weather Warper tried to attack from behind, this time leveling up with a lightning strike. Hearing her flap her wings and charge the lightning, Super Stallion turned around and blocked the lightning and countered with a lightning spell of his own.Weather Warper was hit dead on and fell out of the sky. Weather Warper tried to shake it off but before she could she hit Sugarcube Corner and landed next to her partner in crime.    "For 2 ponies that took so long to catch, they didn't put up much of a fight." Suddenly the fog was cleared by Princess Celestia herself who saw Weather Warper on the ground as she flew over to Super Stallion.  "I'm surprised that you were able to beat the Weather Warper in the time it took me to fly over to the fog Weather Warper made and clear it. Though I guess I shouldn't be that surprised seeing how quickly you reacted when she grabbed me.”  "Yeah I saw her grab you while I finished restraining her partner she didn't hurt you did she?" Super Stallion asked the princess while holding her hoof with two of his. The princess laughed a bit from his clear romantic gestures towards her. She found it funny how rather straightforward he was, but she also found it rather charming. "Yes I'm quite all right she didn't hurt me. But we should make sure that Weather Warper is okay as well." "Right." Weather Warper was out cold like her partner taken away by the royal guards. That just left the matter of Philomena and as it turned out, the pony Fluttershy had taken her. Super Stallion with his hearing was able to help Stone Wall and Princess Celestia find her at a public fountain but to Fluttershy's grief Philomena had turned into ash.  "What is going on here? Twilight." "Okay, but you can't be mad." "Twilight, what happened?" Princess Celestia asked again more firmly. "I'm not going to tell you you didn't promise yet." Stone Wall was about to approach Twilight but Princess Celestia stopped him and took a breath. "Fine, I promise not to be mad, now what happened." After a minute of several ponies saying whose fault it was, Fluttershy explained she took Philomena to help her get better and she would give her right back. Princess Celestia then explained that her pet was a phoenix and that Philomena decided to have fun on Fluttershy's behave.  "Say your sorry young lady." Philomena did as she was told and apologized to sweet Fluttershy. "So you're not going to banish me or lock me in a dungeon or banish me and lock me in the dungeon in the place you banished me to?" Super Stallion and Stone Wall looked at one another in sheer confusion after hearing that. "Of course not my little pony, where in Equestria would you get an idea like that?" "I guess I have some imagination."  "And I guess my work here is done until next time." Super Stallion then flew off into the sky at near lightning speed. "Wow with that speed he should try out for the Wonderbolts, and seriously though isn't it so cool to have an actual superhero in Equestria?" Rainbow Dash said who would later get Philomena to get the guards restraining Weather Warper and Gentleman Thief to lighten up. "I wouldn't try that if I were you," Stone Wall said when Philomena was about to do the same to him. ***    The next day Squeaky Clean made it back to the castle happy to have finally put a stop to the 2 latest trouble makers. Having got to cleaning as usual he eventually ran into Princess Celestia.  "Good morning Squeaky."  "Good morning princess." Having finally stopped Weather Warper and Gentleman Thief Squeaky finally felt the time was right to ask the princess about the Gala. "So princess." Princess Celestia who had already walked away from Squeaky turned around to face him. "About the Grand Galloping Gala."  "Oh that's right, I didn't get back to you on that, I'm sorry." "It's okay so what did you want to ask me?" "Well, the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up and I was wondering if you'd like to join me." Yes I knew it! She wants me to go to the Gala with her, this is amazing, me and her at the Grand Galloping Gala! That's one of the most romantic things I can think of to do with her. There's marrying her but that's going a bit far at this point. "Squeaky?"  "Huh?"  "You didn't answer."  "Oh, sorry. Yes, I'd love to go to the Gala with you."  "That's good to hear. I'm sure the 3 of us will have a great time."  "Wait, 3?" "Oh yes, a while back I invited my student Twilight Sparkle and her friends to the Gala as well. When that happens, I'd like her to be with me the whole night. But I’d still like to spend time with you, I figured it would make the Gala all the more special to be with 2 close friends rather than 1." "Friend?"  "Yes, you’ve only been here a while but I think of you as a friend and I hope the 3 of us have the best night ever."  "I-I can hardly wait," Squeaky said, doing well at hiding his disappointment.  "Me neither. Well I'll see you then Squeaky." The princess then walked away leaving Squeaky alone with his thoughts. "I'm only her friend? I thought for sure that she was asking me out." Squeaky then recalled what the pegasus Fluttershy said to the princess in Ponyville. "I guess that's what I get for jumping to conclusions. In fact that was the same as guessing where Weather Warper and Gentleman Thief would go next if I did a better job at that I might have been able to stop them sooner."  Squeaky then stopped mopping for a moment and looked out the window. "Still, being at the Grand Galloping Gala with Princess Celestia." Thinking that brought a smile to Squeaky's face once more. "She thinks of me as a friend, but maybe I can tell her I want to be more. Yeah a romantic setting like that would be perfect. I'll confess my love for her at the Gala. Nothing can go wrong with that plan, why do I have that bad feeling again?"