I do not own Superman or My Little Pony (wish I did; that'd be cool)
Rainbow Dash crept through the hallways of her house, her hooves squishing against the clouds. Her foe was unaware, too wrapped up in her own exploits to know what was approaching. Certain she was not being watched, Rainbow Dash continued along, stopping only to make adjustments to her cape.
The house was furnished enough that she could sneak through it with ease, giving her complete surprise. Her size also aided in her spying ability, as she could easily peak over tables and chairs and stay out of sight. Rainbow Dash smiled; everything was going according to plan, and she would finally have victory over her opponent.
Said opponent was standing inside the kitchen, looking over a collection of old letters. She was a pink mare with a blue mane and tail, but to Rainbow Dash she was the villain, an unspeakable monster who reveled in the grief of other ponies. Rainbow Dash, however, was the hero, a paragon of goodness come to protect the innocent and weak from the horrors of the world around them. She was faster, stronger, smarter than any pony alive, and she feared nothing.
And now the hero must defeat the evil villain! Rainbow Dash thought as she stalked closer and closer. When she was within reach, she let out a cry and launched herself at the other Pegasus, using her wings to glide the rest of the way. She did not hit with a lot of force, but it was enough to startle the mare out of her focus.
“Rainbow Dash,” Firefly asked as the filly began scrambling across her back “What are you doing?”
“Who’s Rainbow Dash? I’m Superfilly! Defender of Cloudsdale, foe of Tyranny!”
“Do you even know what that means?” Rainbow Dash paused from her attempts to overpower her mother.
“Uh... no... But all my friends said that that’s what superheroes are supposed to oppose!”
“And you’re trying to oppose me?”
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Firefly “You are my arch-nemesis, Mom-Lady! You use your evil powers of evil to impose early bedtimes and alfalfa sauce! Well I, Superfilly, will remove your threat once and for all!” Rainbow Dash began to tug at Firefly’s right wing while the older mare laughed.
“So, you want to oppose me?” she unfurled her left wing and used it to reach back towards her daughter “Try opposing this.” she began to gently stroke the tips of her feathers against Rainbow Dash’s side. The filly stopped trying to pry the other wing open and began to giggle.
“H-hey! That’s not fair!” She swatted at the feathers with her hooves, but Firefly persisted and began to brush her daughter faster “S-Stop! Ha ha ha! P-please!”
“I don’t think I will.” Firefly giggled and started to use both wings to tickle Rainbow Dash.
“Hee-Hee, n-no! I-I’m s-supposed to win! C-cut that out!” she began to thrash around before losing her balance and dropping to the floor, the soft clouds causing her to bounce when she landed. Free of her mother’s tickling, she took off running, trying to reach the sanctuary of her room.
“I’m coming to get you, silly filly!” Firefly called before taking off after Rainbow Dash. The filly was fast, but she was still a filly who had yet to master flight, and her stubby legs were no match for her mother’s wings. Rainbow Dash had almost reached her room when Firefly grabbed her and rolled her over, the older mare blowing a raspberry into Dash’s stomach. Rainbow Dash squealed and continued to squirm while her mother continued to tickle her, the two ponies collapsing into a pile of giggles.
When she had finally calmed down, Rainbow Dash rolled over and lay against her mother’s side, the older mare draping one of her wings over Rainbow Dash. The filly smiled, snuggling up against her mother while tugging at the towel tied around her neck.
“Guess I’m not that great of a superhero.” she said, finally managing to pull the towel from her neck.
“You’ll always be a superhero to me.” Firefly said, leaning in to nuzzle Rainbow Dash.
“But I can’t even overpower my arch-nemesis. How can I be a superhero if I can’t overpower my arch-nemesis?”
“There’s more than just strength, Rainbow.”
“But all that other stuff is boring.”
“Well, sometimes we need to focus on the boring stuff, otherwise we go so fast our whole lives go by without us enjoying them. Do you want to leave me and Dad behind?”
“No! Of course not! But... I still want to do all the fun stuff.”
“You can, just remember about everything else.” Rainbow Dash smiled and snuggled closer.
When Thunderhead came home that night, he found his wife and daughter curled up on the floor, sleeping soundly. He walked over to the two and began to stroke Firefly, stirring the older mare from her sleep.
“Fun day?” he asked, trying not to wake the sleeping filly.
“Yes. She was playing superhero and thought I was her nemesis.” she looked down at her daughter “Then she fell asleep and I guess I dozed off too.”
“Well, let’s get the little hero to bed.” Firefly nodded and scooped Rainbow Dash up in her hooves, the filly mumbling something about “Mom-Lady” before rolling over. Once the filly was tucked in, the two ponies exited her room and went into the kitchen.
“Do you think she knows?” Thunderhead asked.
“About what?”
“About... well, what she is?”
“Thunder, this was just innocent playtime. I don’t think she has a clue.” Firefly sighed “I still think we’ve been dancing around this issue for quite some time.”
“Five years is ‘quite some time’?”
“Yes. Rainbow Dash deserves the right to know where she comes from.”
“I’m all for telling her, but we can’t just walk up to her and say ‘Good news! You’re an alien!’ Do you know what that would do to her?”
“Rainbow’s stronger than you think.”
“... Yes, I know. But she’s only five; she’d get excited and tell everypony she met she was an alien, and if that pony happened to be a guard-”
“Thunder, you’re being paranoid again.” there was a pause.
“Sorry.” he said, walking over to Firefly “I just want her to be safe.”
“I know.” she said, resting her head against his neck “I do too.”
So, these stories are going to be whatever did not make it into Mare of Steel either due to awkward pacing or lack of room. I hope you enjoy. Likes and comments are appreciated.
Jor-El is actually a lot harder to write for than it seems (I guess it has to do with him being dead and therefore unable to show up for extended periods of time in Superman's comics). It's really hard to make him seem wise yet not jerkish, which is inevitable when writing really big sentences without being careful.
anyway, I don't own My Little Pony or Superman. Likes and comments are appreciated.
A particularly bad windstorm had hit the frozen north of Equestria, but the crystal walls of the Fortress of Solitude were more than enough to shield Rainbow Dash from the elements. The sound of the wind did cause her to shiver a little, but she passed it off as a normal reaction. Besides, she had more pressing matters than the weather to worry about.
“So, why teach me about freezing things with my breath when I’m in the middle of a snowstorm?” She asked. The holographic image of Jor-El, her biological father, merely shrugged.
“It’s better to learn now than if you were to sneeze and freeze one of your friends solid.”
“... Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Rainbow Dash inhaled before blowing a small cloud of ice particles out of her mouth. The cloud hung in space for a moment before dissipating, droplets of water collecting near Rainbow Dash’s hooves.
“Very good. The exact amount of ice you can project is proportional to the amount of air that passes through your mouth, but like your vision it is not a passive ability, so you do not have to worry about freezing something while you talk.”
“That’s good.” there was a pause before Rainbow Dash spoke. “Why did you decide to become a scientist?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Why are you a scientist? I mean, wasn’t there anything else to do besides science?”
“Yes there was. However, even from a young age I had always been attracted to how the universe worked, and when I was old enough I applied to be educated as a scientist.”
“So... You were always this big egghead?” there was a pause.
“If you see it that way, then yes. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you do as a profession, as long as you enjoy it. I enjoyed the sciences, while you seem to be very fond of racing.”
“I was raised by the trainer of the Wonderbolts; that’s kind of expected.”
“Yet there was always a possibility that you could have been drawn to something else. Quite a few of my colleagues had been raised by artisans or merchants, yet they too were attracted to the natural world and how it works. Who knows, you could have decided to be a scientist if you so wished.”
“I don’t think Ponyville could handle two eggheads running around.” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. “What about my mom?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You haven’t really told me about my mom. What was she like... unless I was grown in some weird alien baby-growing machine, then I don’t really want to know about that.”
“Cloning was outlawed on Krypton long before even my father’s father was born.” Jor-El’s image faded and was replaced by a young Pegasus mare. She looked to be a little older than Rainbow Dash, with a long brown mane and grey coat. The mare blushed and shuffled a little, as if she was embarrassed to be seen.
“Her name was Lara Lor-Van. We met soon after I began my education as a scientist, and we courted for ten years before finally marrying.”
“What’d she do? Was she a scientist too?”
“Of a sort. She wanted to know how the universe worked as well, but while I was content to study and watch from afar, she wanted to actively go out there, so she studied to become an astronaut.”
“An astronaut?... That’s sounds like it’d be cool, going around in space and seeing all those stars and stuff. I know Twilight would have some big scientific project, but I mean, it’s space. I bet my mom saw a lot of cool things in space, like comets... or aliens! Did she ever visit any planets or moons and see aliens?”
“She suffered an injury to her lungs during a training procedure about five years before you were born, so she was unfit for most potential off world missions.” Jor-El sighed “I tried to help her as best I could, but I am a scientist, Kara, not a doctor; I could explain the entire chemical makeup of a pony, Kryptonian or otherwise, but I couldn’t do something as simple as fix your mother’s lungs. I... well, I felt like I had failed her, that there was more I could do to help her.”
“I know what that’s like.” Rainbow Dash looked down to her hooves “My dad, my adoptive dad, died when I was nineteen. I’d just gotten a job as a weatherpony and... I thought that, maybe I could have done something. You know, paid for more treatment, or a better doctor, or at least a nicer bed for him to sleep on. I had to do something and... I didn’t.” She looked back up at Jor-El, a small tear sliding down your face “I... I kept feeling like it was my fault he was dead, and... and...”
“I know what you are trying to say,” Jor-El said “And know that I felt the same way about your mother’s injuries. But remember: even when it seems as if we are being unjustly treated by the world, we should not allow it to tear us down, for then we can be easily swayed and may turn towards irrational actions. We should learn from these experiences, and allow them to teach us more about ourselves and make us stronger, and if we do endure loss, we should remember those that we have lost for what they were, and cherish those memories for as long as we live.” There was another pause before Jor-El spoke again. “Sorry, I did not mean to get philosophical; I know you’ve stated your displeasure for that sort of behavior.”
“No, it’s okay... I don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Kara. Rest easy tonight, my daughter.” and with that the image winked out, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the Fortress of Solitude.
Next chapter: Rainbow Dash has a conversation with her mom concerning superheroes.
Rainbow Dash turned left and headed towards the Wonderbolts’ Training Facility. The airspace over the building was unusually calm, with almost no Pegasi to be seen. She did not allow the lack of activity to keep her on edge, but still shot a few glances towards the shadier parts of the building.
I shouldn’t worry, she thought. If I can punch a giant robot across town, I can handle a few thugs. She chuckled a little at the thought of somepony trying to mug her and approached the building, pushing the door open and letting herself in.
No one was there except for a few janitors. Spitfire, Soarin’, Rapidfire, all of them were gone. Rainbow Dash shuffled around a little, unsure of how to proceed, before swallowing slightly and walking further into the building.
“Hey, where is everypony?” she asked.
“Trottingham.” Rainbow turned and saw Firefly walking out of a nearby room, the older mare having tucked a small folder beneath one wing. “Some big businesspony, Mane or something, needed some entertainment, and he hired Spitfire and the others to perform.”
“Well, what are you doing here? Don’t you usually go with them when they tour?”
“They needed someone to watch this place.” Firefly laughed. “So, what brings you by?”
“Well, I was hoping I could talk to you about... something.” Firefly looked concerned.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong...”
“Are you pregnant?”
“What? Mom, why is it whenever I talk with you you always ask if I’m getting married or pregnant?”
“Well, considering that you’ve had next to none in terms of relationships with stallions, it’s very likely you’d do something stupid and get yourself pregnant.”
“Thank you for reminding me that I don’t have a love life; that’s doing wonders for my self esteem.”
“Well, if you spent less time racing around and got out a little more then that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I do get out!”
“Then go out a little more.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before Firefly spoke again. “But seriously, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just... Mom, you know about that robot that attacked Ponyville two days ago?”
“Does Princess Celestia love cake?”
“Well, the pony that defeated it, Supermare? That was me; I’m Supermare.” Firefly didn’t answer; she looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment, eyeing her for any signs of emotion, before shrugging and smiling.
“Is that it?”
“‘Is that it’? Mom, I just told you I’m a superhero and you ask ‘that’s it’?”
“Well, what did you expect? ‘Oh Rainbow, that impossible because you look nothing like her’? I raised you from a filly and I know what you can do; It was kind of easy to put the pieces together.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash looked at Firefly. “You’re okay with that?”
“Okay? Rainbow, I’m proud of you.” Firefly pulled Rainbow closer and hugged her. “You’re doing something with the gift you have, and you’re using it to protect other ponies. I couldn’t be more happy about your choices in life.” Firefly hugged Rainbow Dash tighter. “You haven’t told anypony else, have you?”
“No. I was going to tell my friends sometime soon.”
“Be careful with that, Rainbow; I know you have good friends, but if you just go from pony to pony telling them who you are then it will only cause trouble for everypony. You wouldn’t be able to be Rainbow Dash any more, and then you’d never be able to be with me or your friends. You don’t want that, do you?”
“No, not really.”
“Good.” Firefly began to lead Rainbow Dash further into the facility. “So, asides from beating up robot dragons, what else have you been up to?”
“Well, Ponyville’s throwing this big party for me... well, for Supermare, anyway. You can come if you’d like.”
“If I have the time. You know that the Wonderbolts are going on tour soon and I’ve got to keep them in shape.”
“Oh... Think I could get some season tickets?”
“Maybe, as long as you don’t show up everypony with your superpowers.”
“Mom, I’m not that kind of pony.”
“Says the mare who derailed an autograph signing because you wanted to race against Spitfire?”
“... I could have beaten her.”
“Sure.”
“Mom, I’ve got a lot of big responsibilities and stuff; I’m not going to blow it that quickly.”
“I hope so.”
“And... well, I was thinking, maybe...”
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe... we could, y’know, spend some time together... you know, mother daughter stuff?” Firefly looked at the younger pony, a small smile gracing her lips.
“I would like that very much.”
Rainbow Dash was napping, her first real nap since leaving Canterlot after her fight with Zod. She snuggled into the branches of a tree near Sweet Apple Acres, allowing the wind to brush against her and lull her to sleep. Dreams of flying drifted through her mind, and a small smile spread across her face.
She slept for a few minutes before something fuzzy touched her nose. She scrunched up her face a little and rolled over, but the fuzzy thing landed on her again. She rolled over several more times, but the fuzzy thing kept landing on her again and again. Rainbow Dash grumbled and sat up and found a small butterfly, one of the green and blue ones that Fluttershy was fond of, sitting on her stomach.
“Oh, hi there.” the butterfly looked at her, twitching its antennae a few times. “Hey, can you maybe go sit somewhere else? I want to get some sleep.” The butterfly fluttered up and landed on her head, causing her to frown. “Seriously, I want to sleep. Shoo, get out of here.” Wish talking to animals was one of my powers. “Come on, get out of here, go bother Fluttershy.”
The butterfly fluttered down and landed on her nose, fuzzy legs brushing against her. She twitched her nose several times to get rid of the butterfly, but the insect looked at her and twitched it’s antennae a few more times. “What does Fluttershy do to get rid of... get rid of...”
Rainbow Dash’s nose had begun to tingle, a sensation that grew in intensity the longer the butterfly sat there. She reached up to swat the butterfly away, but something gave out and she sneezed, a massive blast of sound that could be heard as far as Manehattan. Rainbow Dash shook her head and looked around; several apple trees were now devoid of leaves and apples, and a very confused and slightly angry Applejack was looking at her.
“Rainbow, what the hay happened?” She shouted.
“Heh, sorry about that AJ. I can’t really control my sneezes.”
“Well, good thing I had ta pick these apples, but next time I want ya ta sleep somewhere without any crops, ya hear?”
“Yeah yeah, I heard you.” Applejack nodded and went about picking up the scattered apples. Rainbow Dash rubbed her nose and looked around, frowning slightly.
The branch she was sitting on was covered in small icicles, each one growing in thickness and length. Attached to a particularly thick icicle was the butterfly, now a shade of light blue and covered in ice. Rainbow Dash blinked a few times as she realized what had happened.
“... Fluttershy’s going to be mad.”
“Hey, Fluttershy, you home?” Rainbow Dash landed outside Fluttershy’s cottage, the frozen butterfly tucked under one of her wings. Fluttershy was with some of her otters, the butter yellow Pegasus helping them with a small pile of fish. Fluttershy paused from her activities and looked up.
“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. What can I help you with?” Fluttershy finished helping the otters and flew up to face Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah... I’ve got a problem...”
“Is something wrong with Tank?”
“No, he’s fine. It just... well... Something happened to one of your butterflies.”
“Oh dear, you didn’t knock one over when you were out flying, did you?”
“No, I... I kind of froze it, a little.” Fluttershy gasped.
“Oh Rainbow, of all the things you could have done you had to stick some poor little butterfly in a freezer.”
“I never did anything like that! I just... sneezed.”
“Sn-sneezed?”
“Yeah... Wait, I never told you guys about the freeze breath, did I?”
“No.”
“Yeah... I can freeze things with my breath if I really wanted to. I usually can control it, but... well, not when I sneeze.”
“Has this happened before?”
“No, of course not. I just never had... never had...” Rainbow Dash’s nose began to tingle again.
“Rainbow, is something wrong?”
“Fl-Fluttershy, you should... get...” Rainbow Dash’s body spasmed as she sneezed again, knocking the butterfly out from under her wing. Rainbow Dash rubbed her nose and looked up, seeing that Fluttershy was now covered in small icicles, her eyes wide with surprise and her mane swept back.
“Oh come on!”
“Hey, Twilight!”
“What is it Rainbow Da-” Twilight frowned as Rainbow Dash dragged the frozen Fluttershy into the library. “Rainbow Dash, what’s wrong with Fluttershy?”
“I froze her with my freeze breath.”
“What?”
“I have freeze breath and I sneezed on Fluttershy, okay? I was going to tell this to you sooner, but it slipped my mind.” Rainbow Dash placed Fluttershy on the ground before Twilight. “Can you unfreeze her?”
“I think I have a spell that may work. Just stand back.” Twilight’s horn shimmered as Fluttershy was enveloped in purple light. There was a flash and the ice around the Pegasus melted, and with her limbs free Fluttershy collapsed to the ground shivering.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, pawing at the ground sheepishly. “Sorry for freezing you.”
“Th-Th-That’s-s-s-s O-k-k-k-kay R-R-Rainbow.” Fluttershy stammered, pulling herself back to her hooves. “I kn-kn-know y-y-you didn’t m-m-mean to do th-th-that.”
“Yeah, I’ll try not to do that again.” Rainbow Dash wrapped a leg around her friend. “Come on, I’ll take you home and you can lie down.”
“O-O-O-Okay, Th-Th-Thanks.” the two Pegasi turned to leave while Twilight conjured a mop to clean up the melted ice.
“Rainbow Dash, I think I need to make a list of your powers so we know what to expect and how to deal with problems like this.” Twilight said.
“Uh, what if somepony else finds it?"
“I can memorize it and make a spell so that we all know what they are, then we could destroy the original copy so nopony else gets ahold of it. Does that work?”
“I... I guess it would be okay. Can I get Fluttershy home first, and then we can talk more?”
“Of course.” Twilight waved goodbye as Rainbow Dash carried Fluttershy away.
“I’m still sorry about freezing you, Fluttershy. Is there any way I could make up for it?”
“M-m-maybe if you come w-w-with me t-t-t-to the next b-b-b-b-b-butterfly migration?”
“I... I guess I could do that.”
Princess Cadence stood on one of the balconies of the central spire of the Crystal Empire, waiting. Behind her was a small table, on which sat a teapot and two cups, and a very nervous Shining Armor.
“Are you sure that you don’t need anything else?” he asked, pawing at the ground nervously.
“You’ve asked me that ten times in the past five minutes, and yes I am sure I don’t need anything else.” She shot her husband a smile. “I’m surprised that you’d be so nervous over one pony.”
“Well, yeah, but she’s still, you know, a superhero and all. I have a right to be nervous.” Cadence chuckled and turned to face Shining Armor.
“Shining, there’s no need to be nervous; she may be a superhero, but she’s still a pony.” Shining Armor nodded in agreement. “You know, this reminds me a lot of our first date.”
“Yeah...”
“You were so nervous that you’d mess something up you accidentally set your napkin on fire.”
“I know, no need to remind me.”
“Still, I thought it was cute.” Shining Armor blushed. Cadence giggled at his misfortune and looked back across the Crystal Empire. A minute passed before she saw a blue speck flying towards the spire, gradually growing until it took the shape of a tan-coated mare in a blue suit and red cape. The mare slowed and pulled up, hovering over the balcony for a moment before landing with a small thump.
“Princess Cadence.” She said, nodding her respects.
“Supermare.” Cadence returned the nod. “On the behalf of all my subjects, I want to welcome you to the Crystal Empire.”
“The pleasure is mine.” Supermare smiled and looked past Cadene towards Shining Armor. “Your husband?”
“Oh yes, almost forgot.” Cadence turned slightly. “This is Shining Armor, Captain of Equestria’s Royal Guards.”
“It’s an honor to meet you face to face, Supermare.” Shining Armor said, bowing slightly.
“Not many people get that chance.” Supermare looked at Cadence. “Will he be joining us?”
“No, I have some administrative work that has to be done. I’ll just leave you two alone for now.” Shining bowed again and left, Cadence blowing a kiss to him before he vanished from sight.
“He’s always been like that around visiting dignitaries.” the princess chuckled. “Come, make yourself at home.” Supermare nodded and made her way towards the table. Cadence took a moment to look the superhero over; Supermare did not carry herself like a noble, preferring to be more loose and casual with her movement, but she did seem to walk carefully, her steps barely making any sound against the floor. Cadence could also see traces of strong magic radiating off the mare, but she passed it off as merely leftover power from coming through the barrier surrounding the Empire. She walked over to the table and sat down, pouring tea for herself and her guest as she did so.
“So,” Cadence began. “I wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.” the superhero responded, taking a small sip from her tea.
“Will you be making any further trips into the Crystal Empire to do... heroics?”
“If it’s a problem, no, but I promise to not interfere unless extremely necessary.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.” Cadence sighed and finished off the last of her tea. “When I first heard about you, I was reminded of one of my friends from my childhood years. She was a bit... hot blooded, very passionate about protecting ponies by any means necessary.”
“And you were afraid I might have something get to my head and I’d turn into some kind of vigilante or, Celestia forbid, overthrow you?” Cadence nodded. “I am a protector of ponies first and foremost; while I do believe in justice I won’t take it upon myself to become a one-pony justice department. Also, I think you are capable of being a very good ruler, and you’ve been nice to a couple of my friends and I don’t want to betray their trust as well as yours.”
“But wouldn’t that help you in the long run?”
“Yes, but I tend to see myself as a guide, not an administrator. How you run your nation is up to you, and I promise that I will not try and usurp your authority unless you become a threat to the ponies of Equestria and the Empire.” Supermare took another sip. “Is there anything else you would like to ask?”
“A few things, yes. When I first arrived here, I noticed a few sources of magical energy to the west. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?” Supermare was silent for a moment before chuckling.
“That’s nothing to worry about, just some background radiation from the explosion in Canterlot. A lot of magic does tend to collect up here, so you shouldn’t worry if more spots pop up.”
“Very well. One final question.” Cadence paused, looking around at the Crystal Empire. “Are there... are there more of you?”
“... No. I am the last Kryptonian; the others died when Krypton was destroyed, or... I don’t really want to talk about the others.”
“I didn’t mean to pry, I just...” Cadence sighed. “I grew up amongst alicorns and other powerful beings. When my aunt brought me to Canterlot for magical training, I couldn’t imagine what she had to go through with... no one. It scared me and made me feel bad, thinking that She had no one to help her through Luna’s banishment.”
“What about those that you grew up with?”
“They never left my home, and Celestia never visited. She never did tell me why, but I rarely saw her as a filly.”
“I see.” Supermare finished the last of her tea. “You shouldn’t worry. Celestia is a strong mare, and I think we all have to go through times where we need to know that we are alone; it helps us grow closer to and be more thankful for our friends and family.” Cadence looked at the superhero. “My father told me that.” Supermare explained.
“I thought you said you were the last Kryptonian.”
“I am. It’s a long story that I don’t really have time to explain.” Supermare smiled. “I would love to stay and talk, but I have other duties to attend to.”
“Oh, of course.” Supermare rose up into the air and prepared to leave, but something held her back.
“Two things before I leave.”
“Yes?”
“Your friend, what was her name?”
“Diana.”
“Diana, huh? I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“I’m sure she’d like to meet you as well.” Supermare nodded. “Was there anything else you’d like to ask?”
“Yeah. Does Shining Armor know?” Cadence frowned.
“Know what?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Have you told him yet?” Cadence blinked before she realised what exactly Supermare was talking about.
“No, I haven’t told him yet.”
“You should. It’s the kind of thing that anypony should tell their spouse.” Supermare nodded and took off, shrinking into the distance before vanishing entirely.
Brainiac was in his evil base doing evil things that are evil. All around him were various machines and computer stuff that were helping him perform his evil plans, which had been stored away in his evil safe of evil.
Did I mention that he’s evil? Because he is.
“Mwa ha ha!” Brainiac laughed evilly, because he is evil. “Those fools don’t know that I, Brainiac, am just moments away from completing my evil plan! Soon all of Equestria shall be mine! Mwa ha ha!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” said a tan mare in a red cape and blue suit before smashing through the wall of Brainiac’s evil lair.
“Oh no! It’s Supermare!” (cymbal crash).
“Yes, it is I, Supermare, and I was able to pick up your evil plans with my super-hearing and now I have come to stop you in the name of truth, justice and the Equestrian Way!”
“Really? Well, you are too late, Supermare! As we speak, my evil machines of evil are already completing my evil plan. Soon the entire water supply of Ponyville will be contaminated, and there will be extra fat in the drinking water!”
“Oh no! Not the drinking water! Then all of Ponyville’s citizens will be unable to live healthy and fulfilling lives. You can’t do such a thing!”
“Yes I can, because I am evil. Mwa ha ha!”
“You cannot win, Brainiac; you may be evil and smart and stuff, but you are evil and I am not, so you must be defeated!” they fought, and Brainiac lost because he is evil and Supermare is good. “Now, I’ll use my super-drinking skills and my super-metabolism to drink all of the contaminated water and Equestria will be saved!”
And she did.
“Curses, foiled again!” Brainiac said.
“Now it’s off to jail with you.”
“Aw maaan.” and so Brainiac went to jail and the day was saved.
“Thank you Supermare for saving the day!” all the ponies in Ponyville said.
“No trouble at all, citizens! I am here to serve you, after all.” Everypony cheered, except Pinkie because she was screaming.
“Oh no! Silversmith just stole forty cakes!”
“Not forty cakes! That’s as many as four tens!”
And that’s terrible.
“Fear not, citizens. I, Supermare, will go and save the day!” and off she flew, with everypony cheering, to stop the evil forces of evil once and for all.
Rainbow Dash tore through the skies over Baltimare. Behind her, smoke rose from an old warehouse she had been fighting in, but she had set that issue aside for the moment.
Catching the pony responsible was higher on her list of priorities.
“You just can’t allow me to retake that which is mine, can you, Supermare?” The Great and Powerful Trixie shouted from an oncoming rooftop.
“When you put ponies’ lives in danger, Trixie, we are going to be in conflict.” Rainbow Dash stopped in front of the deranged showmare, folding her forelegs and glaring down at her. “You care only about yourself, and you don’t care if anypony gets hurt.”
“If they do then it’s their fault that they got in my way.” Trixie’s horn shimmered. “You could have stayed out of this, but no, you had to show up and ruin everything I had worked so hard to create!”
“Staging a fire just so you could appear heroic putting it out? You really need to focus, Trixie.” Trixie growled and fired a blast of magic, but Rainbow easily evaded and dove towards Trixie. Trixie tried to attack again, but Rainbow fired a short blast of heat vision and knocked the unicorn off the building. Rainbow considered diving after and saving Trixie, but the unicorn managed to teleport to a second building.
“So you have your superpowers,” Trixie scoffed. “They are nothing compared to my magic.”
“Says the unicorn that can’t even lift a good sized cart with her magic.” Rainbow Dash dodged another blast from the enraged Trixie. “Look, why don’t you just give up and turn yourself in, and I can get back to saving ponies. I think we’d all be happier.”
“No, I will never surrender to the likes of you!” Trixie’s horn glowed again. “You may be able to dodge most of my spells, but I assure you that you will suffer greatly with this!” Trixie released her spell, a white wave of energy rushing towards Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus tried to dodge, but the wave was just too large and she found herself slammed against another building. A few chunks of masonry broke loose and collapsed on her, pinning her to the ground.
Okay, weird spell, but I don’t think it did anything. Rainbow Dash shuffled her hooves around and pushed up, attempting to throw the rubble off her back. She strained for a few moments before collapsing, more rubble being added to the pile.
“... Okay, this is bad. My powers aren’t working properly.” Rainbow Dash pushed up again, but to no avail. “Maybe I should ask Twilight to make some telekinetic thingy just in case things like this happen.”
“Maybe you just need to push yourself harder.” Rainbow heard a voice that sounded a lot like herself say. She looked up and saw, sitting on a fallen beam, a red version of herself in a red bodysuit.
“Uh... where’d you come from?”
“If my theory is correct,” a second voice said, and Rainbow saw a navy blue Pegasus in a blue suit land next to her other doppelganger. “Trixie’s spell acted as a limited-range duplicator, separating us from your natural reserve of magic and giving us physical forms.”
“Uh... could you explain that with less egghead talk?”
“She means that we’re you.” the red one said before looking to the blue one. “Right?”
“Technically speaking no. I do not know the exact deviations between us, but aside from physical variances I cannot determine what sets us apart.”
“Even Twilight would know...” Rainbow Dash muttered before failing once more to remove the rubble. “Hey, can one of you give me some help here?”
“Pssh. Screw that!” said the red one, Rainbow deciding to call her Red Dash, before taking off. “I’m going to have another go at Trixie. See you losers later!” and with that Red Dash was gone. Rainbow Dash muttered a curse and looked to the other, Blue Dash.
“Okay, I’m sorry for calling you an egghead. Could you help me?”
“No.” Blue Dash prepared to leave. “Rescuing you does not gain me anything. There are more practical uses of both my intellect and strengths, and helping you does not assist either?”
“How do you know?”
“... Pardon?”
“How do you know I’m useless? I mean, you don’t know how Trixie’s spell works, so you might need me and... Red to study it further.” Blue Dash paused for a moment, mulling over what Rainbow Dash said. The other mare shrugged before raising a hoof, a small beam of blue light encircling the rubble and raising it high enough for Rainbow Dash to squeeze out.
“I have assisted in freeing you. Now I must go and subdue my counterpart so I may begin tests on our connection, if any.”
“Sure, go ahead.” Blue Dash nodded and took off, Rainbow Dash following behind. I’ve got to find a way to get my powers working again... Maybe these two might be my answer.
There was a crash up ahead and Rainbow saw Red Dash circling Trixie, an aura of power surrounding the Pegasus. Around them were the remains of several carts and buildings, blown apart by energy blasts from either of the two combatants. Blue Dash moved forward to try and intercept Red, while Rainbow Dash hung back to avoid getting hurt without her powers.
“You call that an energy blast?” Red Dash yelled at Trixie. “I could do something like that in my sleep!”
“You have no control whatsoever. I am in complete control of what I am doing.”
“Eh, who needs control? I’m still stronger than you!”
“Actually,” Blue Dash said. “You only seem to possess a limited amount of power, and upon seeing Trixie’s displays of power yours are not all that strong.”
“What?!” Red Dash turned to face Blue Dash.
“That is not to say you aren’t strong, but I would say your powers are closer to that of an average unicorn.”
“Trixie is not average!” the two Dashes ignored her.
“How would you know this, egghead?”
“I only observed the destructive capabilities of both you and the unicorn; based on the energy expenditures and the blast radius of a standard spell and one of your energy blasts, they are roughly the same.” Rainbow Dash smiled a little; Red and Blue arguing with each other had provided her with a distraction to get at Trixie, and she was now sneaking up behind the showmare with a large brick in her hooves. Before Trixie had a chance to turn around, Rainbow Dash had slammed the brick down on Trixie’s head, knocking the unicorn out cold.
Okay, now I just have to get rid of those two.
“I bet I could take you on easily!” Red Dash said, taking a fighting stance while Rainbow returned to them.
“Given your headstrong attitude and lack of any tactical insight, I highly doubt that I could be troubled by some insignificant peon such as yourself.”
“Heh, I find that hard to believe.” Rainbow Dash muttered. Both Red and Blue looked to her.
“... What did you just say?”
“I don’t think either of you guys are really that great.” Rainbow turned to Red. “You are too impulsive and careless; yeah, you chase the bad guys, but you also cause a lot of collateral damage, which might get a lot of ponies hurt and make you seem like some thug.”
“At least I get results...” growled Red Dash.
“As much as your analysis is amusing,” Blue Dash began. “There are other issues I must deal with, and since you are here together I can-”
“No, no experimenting.” Rainbow snapped. “You’re no better; you’re so wrapped up in logic that you don’t care about what’s going on around you, unless it has something to do with you. How are you supposed to protect ponies if all you care about is expanding your ‘vast’ intellect?”
“... Did you just insult my intelligence?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Both Blue and Red glared at Rainbow, auras of energy enveloping them.
“I say we deal with this... annoyance, and then we can decide where our paths will lead us.”
“Whatever you say, Egghead.” Red and Blue raised their hooves and fired their energy blasts at Rainbow Dash, both attacks connecting at the same time and sending her flying. She struggled in the air for a few moments before righting herself, but not after she clipped the top of a building, sending several chunks of masonry falling towards the ground. Rainbow raced after them and managed to knock them out of the way, slowing them down enough so that they caused no further damage.
Okay, things are getting back to normal... Rainbow Dash turned and raced back to Red and Blue Dash, the two Pegasi generally surprised that she was still flying.
“Hmm, interesting.” Blue Dash said. “It seems that your durability is still very high. I suppose that striking you with a higher concentration of power may overcome that.”
“Sure it will.” Rainbow Dash rushed forward, one hoof out to strike Red Dash. Red had little time to react before Rainbow slammed into her at full speed, the force of impact knocking the clone half way across town. As Red recovered, Blue fired a blast of energy at Rainbow, but the attack bounced harmlessly off her as she tackled her doppelganger. She struck as fast as she could, landing several hits before she was grabbed from behind by Red Dash. Rainbow allowed herself to drop, slamming Red Dash into the ground and knocking her out cold.
“This... this is impossible!” cried Blue Dash. “You shouldn’t have your powers back!”
“My guess is that you two blasting me was enough to fix whatever Trixie did.” Rainbow raced forward and grabbed Blue Dash. “And now, time to get rid of you both!” Rainbow pitched Blue to the ground, somehow managing to hit Red in the process. Both doppelgangers began to glow before exploding into a shower of light, the force of the explosion knocking Rainbow around as she tried to maintain altitude.
“Okay, that was interesting... Now to go get Trixie to jail, again.”