True Blue Hero

by totallynotabrony

Chapter 7

The bank would have been crowded with twelve customers, but instead a dozen armed robbers made it uncomfortably packed. The hostages stayed flat to the floor, hooves over their heads. The robbers in turn gripped their weapons a bit more tightly, a dozen pairs of eyes now glaring solely at Blueblood.

Luckily for him, he had gone to the bathroom only a few hours ago at the castle, so he didn’t shit himself at the overwhelming odds right off the bat. What he did feel was overpowering nausea, buckling knees, and a tingly feeling in his spine that sent shivers down his back. He came to the quick conclusion that he was scared out of his mind.

An awkward silence descended upon the bank, the quietness so thick one could cut it with a knife - which Blueblood observed several of the robbers carrying. The tension stretched out, building and growing more oppressive.

Okay, I’ve got a plan, said Trudy. One versus twelve is stupid odds, each is armed to the teeth, all are in superb physical condition, and I’m only running by a guess saying they’ll most likely kill you now. So you’re going to have to hit hard and with everything you’ve got. Start with the big guy first.

She paused. Now!

As if jolted by her voice, Blueblood jerked his head and fired a bolt of magic towards a hulking earth pony with a menacing looking club held tightly in his teeth. It was just a basic force spell, but he certainly didn’t hold back any effort. The spell hit Blueblood’s opponent in the chest and knocked him backwards, like a bomb exploded before him. The earth pony hit the wall with a large thump, leaving cracks in the drywall.

“Okay… I did not see that coming!” Blueblood whispered in a mix of amazement and joy.

Guess I added more juice to that one than I thought.

The rest of the slimy crew of robbers stared in shock at their downed teammate, then back at Blueblood. Blueblood noted smugly that a few even had what appeared to be fear in their eyes.

“Think you can manage that again?” Blueblood asked Trudy, a wicked smile hiding underneath his mask.

Um… I think so. Just don’t overdo it.

“Good, because I’m going to enjoy this.” Blueblood flared his wings, both to make himself appear larger and to drive home the fact that the crooks were dealing with a motherbucking alicorn. He planted his hooves wide on the floor and stared down the group of crooks. “Alright, which one of you goons is next?”

The crooks stared at one another, indeed wondering who was the next one to go against this costumed freak. It was a pegasus with razor blades strapped to his wings that answered Blueblood’s question. The assailant threw himself forward, but with a quick burst of magic Blueblood knocked him back in a whirl of feathers. He hit the back wall similar to the first pony, even leaving a similar dent in the wall.

Blueblood’s horn felt slightly warm, as it probably should after throwing around magic like that, but his grin only increased. “Okay, that was better, but I’m still not breaking a sweat over here.”

“Friggin’ psychopath!” a unicorn shouted, coming at Blueblood with a very large hammer being swung in his magic.

Not even bothering to move a muscle, Blueblood sent him flying as well with a powerful knockout magic attack. “That’s one fourth of you crooks down for the count. Anyone else?” Blueblood asked, brushing some dust off his suit nonchalantly. “Come on, I’m getting bored!”

The remaining robbers backed away slightly, their confidence from before quickly decreasing. What had once been overwhelming odds had now been cut down to size with the sudden appearance of a real life superhero. Based on the looks on their faces, many were seriously considering scramming from the scene.

“Okay, tough guy, let’s do this!” another unicorn yelled, pushing his way through the crowdof robbers with a wickedly sharp double sided axe held in his magic grip. “I’ll nail your head to the door when I’m done with ya!”

The rest of the robbers backed away quietly, leaving their comrade to stand all alone. He didn’t notice, however, and continued to advance towards Blueblood.

The costumed prince smirked and braced for another spell. Activating his horn, he reached out for magic...and came up empty. The only thing that his horn managed to produce was a rather pathetic breeze that brushed against the robber’s face.

Behind Blueblood’s mask, it was difficult to see the horrified expression on his face. Regardless, his attacker took the chance to strike.

I don’t know what just happened! Trudy cried. I think you overexerted yourself, but didn’t realize it because I was kicking in a little extra. Let me reroute some energy from–

Blueblood didn’t hear the rest because he was already diving out of the way, coming within inches of being beheaded. His enemy swung the weapon again, and Blueblood tried a different tactic, flying towards the ceiling. The axe missed, but again, not by much.

Buoyed by their comrade’s relative success, the other members of the gang of crooks started forward, the pegasi in the group flying up to Blueblood’s level. They were coming at him from all sides, and he was quickly being boxed in.

A sudden surge of energy went through Blueblood, the feeling concentrated on his horn. Trudy spoke to him. I managed to get you enough magic for one more shot–make it count!

Blueblood charged his spell, trying to pick one target out of the eight ponies closing in. His eyes flicked wildly back and forth, looking for a gap that would get him out of this situation. All he needed was one opening, just a space to struggle free.

But he waited too long and eight heavily armed stallions tackled him, throwing his aim off and wasting the last bit of effective magic he had. The spell lashed at the back wall of the bank, slamming into the brickwork and bringing down a section of it with a crash.

Blueblood was momentarily astonished that he’d managed to accomplish that, but the thought was quickly put out of his head by the beginning of the worst beatdown he’d ever received.

Ouch! You can’t keep taking this, Blueblood! I’m doing what I can, but your bones aren’t going to hold much longer!

Still struggling as much as he could to minimize pain, Blueblood rolled, ending up facing the hole in the back wall. The dust was still settling, and through the gap appeared Bright Defender.

Her hooves floated a few inches off the floor, levitating through pure magic output. Her horn was lit up like a flare and the energy was almost hot enough to feel from across the room.

The crowd of criminals around Blueblood froze, staring at the sight. The mare’s cape fluttered slightly in the convection currents coming off her building magic. Her eyes glowed white with power. If Blueblood had known that she was capable to looking so scary, he probably would have just sent her in first and asked the criminals to surrender. He was almost jealous that she could pull that look off.

“Come quietly and none of you will get hurt,” said Bright.

“You should listen to her,” Blueblood put in, gasping for breath at the bottom of the pile. “You think she’s intimidating now, just wait. That isn’t even her final form.”

He had no way of knowing that for sure, of course, but it sounded good at the time.

The first pony to charge Bright was either stupid or crazy. Either way, he attacked and she fired a stunning spell at him that did more than just knock him out, it flipped him backwards and he hit the wall upside down, hanging there for a moment before sliding down like some sort of cartoon effect.

Bright zapped the second thug only as he started to move. The spell was equally as powerful as the first, blowing him away in a similar manner.

The third and fourth criminals got similar treatment, only at least they managed to take a few steps toward Bright before she cut them down with a one blast of magic each. The fifth and sixth had almost reached her before they too were sent sprawling with spells. The walls were now showing more crumbled drywall than actual paint.

The last two attackers managed to get too close for Bright to dispatch them so easily. Surprisingly, throwing so much magic around didn’t appear to have sapped her strength by any amount, but she wasn’t able to bring her horn to bear before they were on her.

She whipped her head, her mane seeming almost to lengthen as it slapped at the first assailant in line. She turned, her tail flipping to wrap around the second.

Bright kicked off the ground with a flap of her wings, her hair holding the two stallions tightly enough to bring them right along for the ride. Flipping over, Bright twisted her body until she and her two opponents were held upside down. Then she dropped them.

They both landed with a crash. Bright righted herself in the air and touched down gracefully. Then she whipped her mane and tail again, sending them both flying across the room in separate directions.

Blueblood got up, doing his best not to appear injured and embarrassed. Bright turned to the bank employees who were slowly beginning to move, realizing the fight was over.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, I apologize for the property damage,” said Bright. “The police should be on their way soon and you can get back to your night.”

“Wait, who are you?” called one of the bankers.

Bright saluted, bringing a hoof to the brim of her hat. “Just doing my duty to the citizens of Equestria.”

She trotted out the hole in the back wall. Blueblood took a quick glance around him and hurried after her, trying to ignore the pain of his injuries.

Outside, Bright glanced around and then took off, heading for the top of a nearby building. Blueblood followed as well as he could with sore muscles, and they both landed on the roof.

“Oh my gosh, that was so invigorating!” Bright crowed, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve never felt more alive!”

“I’ve never felt more dead,” Blueblood muttered, massaging his bruises. A pummeling a night definitely wasn’t part of a healthy lifestyle.

“Well, whose fault was that?” Bright asked. “It was your idea to go in first.”

“I didn’t know there would be twelve of them!” he shot back.

She raised a hoof questioningly. “And whose fault was it that you didn’t check? A poor tactical decision if I ever saw one.”

Here, when she wasn’t in battle mode, Bright looked rather cute, but also terribly smug. Blueblood leaned closer to her, straightening up to take advantage of his height. “At least I was trying to strike fear into their hearts so they would never do this again. And you did what? Just knock them out?”

“It worked,” Bright pointed out. “And I didn’t just brute-force it. Seriously, were you trying to look scary or something? I thought brooding, dark superheroes were only for comic books?”

“Scary?” hissed Blueblood, his lips pulling back, teeth snarling. “You’re supposed to strike fear into criminal hearts. To make them feel what you do. Putting terror into their lives, making every waking moment filled with dread at the thought of ever confronting you again. You can throw away as many scumbags as you can into prison, but they’ll always be more out there. It’s only being the embodiment of justice, the more dark and callous side, that we can ever put an end to their crimes.”

Bright tilted her head to the side, staring at Blueblood silently for a few moments. “You got that from Batmane, didn’t you?”

Busted! This mare is smarter than I thought.

“N-no I didn’t!” Blueblood replied.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I may not be the biggest comic book enthusiast, but I’m pretty sure that’s something Batmane said in one of the earlier issues.”

“B-but… I… um, it doesn’t matter!” Blueblood sputtered, his embarrassment rising to all new levels. “It worked in the comics, and I’m going to make it work here too!

“There’s a difference between the comics and real life,” Bright chided him. “Colts read comics. So, are you a colt as well, trying to live out his comic book dreams in real life? Because if you are, that’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard of. This is serious business, and ponies’ lives are on the line. If you can’t be mature about this and are just running around dressed as a superhero because you have nothing better to do, I would suggest you quit right away. As an alicorn, I would expect more from you.”

What a bitch, Trudy noted, her thoughts echoing Blueblood's. She thinks she's so special.

Bright's comments stung Blueblood on more than a few levels, and Trudy's backing encouraged him to argue. He growled, “I can do whatever I want! I know I’m doing the right thing: trying to help! How I go about it is my own bucking business! You’re not better than me!”

“When did this become a contest?” Bright demanded. “But if that’s how you’re going to play, then which one of us is actually good at this? Who has taken out the most bad guys, you or me? Between you and I, which one of us do you think the criminals fear more?”

Bright’s face shifted abruptly, changing to confusion and caution. “Is there something wrong with your mouth?”

Special effects, Trudy assured him. Just roll with it.

Blueblood felt his cheeks split wider, pulling his lips back into a smile that was wider than even the Element of Laughter could manage. There were a few pinpricks in his gums and he felt his teeth shift and grow, sharpening to points. It wasn’t exactly painful, but it had a similar sensation as if thousands of knives had just sprouted from his mouth.

“Which one of us do the criminals fear more?” he asked, his mouth opening wider than it ever had before in a wickedly maniacal grin. Blueblood licked his lips, his tongue touching his sharp teeth and easily reaching six inches out of his mouth. It was also forked, apparently.

Blueblood’s demented smile made Bright back up a step, his sharp row of fangs glistening in the light as a few drops of saliva ran over them. Blueblood felt invigorated, so high on whatever Trudy was pumping into him to cause his sharp-toothed smirk that he couldn’t help but leer in slightly psychotic glee.

“Who’s scarier - that’s a good question. But if it’s fear this city needs, then I’m going to give it to them.”

Comments

[Lag Incarnate]

You were right, I loved the ending to this chapter. It's things like that that make me want superpowers. Granted, I can creep people out perfectly fine, but being able to make myself a Gmod doll would be great fun with practice.

[Harwick]

From Batman to Venom in ten seconds flat...

[djthomp]

Woah.

And that ending totally overshadowed the righteous flanking kicking that Bright administered to the robbers, which is a complete shame.

[Chaotic Mind]

Dat ending. HOLY SHIT!!!

NOTE: Same guy as Chaotic Pony. Just changed my avatar and username.

[Jess887cp]

Yeeesssss! :D

Too bad Bluey won't be able to woo Bright from a position of PURE EVIL!

[Awesomebronypony]

Well, that escalated quickly what happened to defender of the night skies???

[The Great Derpsby]

Is this going to be one of those universes where every criminal is a guy?

[Aurum]

He's not gonna turn evil, is he? I want him on the good side for once.

[totallynotabrony]

3255383 That's partially the point.

3256073 Erm, thanks for pointing that out. No, that wasn't the intent, especially in a place where mares outnumber stallions.

[Lazygamer313]

3255944 Well, he is... in a sense. He just opted for the more 'terrifying image is scarier then effectively taking out goons' kind of deal, which I imagine would be more of the line of 'Chaotic Good' and being like Venom. The Question now is that later on would he be become more a hero of justice or would it be vengeance? Time well tell, I guess.

3255304 Agreed

[Chainlinc3]

3256254
I would giggle if this was actually a plot point. Stallions get oppressed by The Mare, turn to crime to get by. xD

[Capn_Chryssalid]

Haha! Oh, I sort of felt this coming, but the end of the chapter proved it.

I'm a child of the 80s and 90s, you know, and a guy, so of course I had some Venom comics. And by 'had' I mean I still have them packed away somewhere. The Lethal Protector! With how Trudy seems like a symbiote I got this feeling a while back and now we've got the Todd Mcfarlane Venom Grin. Ssslurp!

[Blaze Song]

Oh Goody  Venom is heeeerre! Oh silly Twi.. Let Bluey have his fun..