Don't Cry After Sunset: Part 2
"You might win some, you might lose some. But you go in, you challenge yourself, and you become a better man, a better individual, a better fighter."
- Conor McGregor
A week later, the Maretropolis Policeponies' Ball was in full swing at City Hall. Chief Spitfire stood at the podium onstage as she addressed the crowd of dressed-up policeponies.
"Thank you every pony for taking time out of your busy schedules for this event," she said into the microphone. "Tonight, we honor the ponies who help keep our city safe. And that's not just limited to our esteemed police force, but seven heroes who use their gifts to defend our fair city. Please welcome our special guests: the Power Ponies!"
The crowd applauded as the heroes came from all directions. Fili-Second whizzed through the room in a pink streak, reaching the stage first. Zapp swooped down from above, leaving a trail of lightning behind her. Mare-velous swung from the rafters, releasing her rope as she landed onstage. Radiance flew in on a glowing pink carpet, while Saddle Rager shyly came out from behind the curtain. The five ponies stood in a line as the audience continued to clap.
After about a minute, Spitfire wore a frown as she glanced around the room. The crowd did the same, expecting something else. Or rather, some pony else.
"I know you told me it was past Humdrum's bedtime," Spitfire whispered to the heroes, covering the microphone with her hoof, "but where's the Matter-Horn?"
The Power Ponies looked at each other, appearing just as confused. Fili-Second pointed to each of her colleagues, plus herself, counting silently.
"I thought she said she was coming," Zapp whispered to Mare-velous.
Mare-velous scanned the crowd, murmuring, "Twilight Sparkle didn't show up either."
Her gaze fell upon Flash Sentry, whose eyes were also searching the room.
"She's not answering her commlink," Radiance whispered, her hoof in her ear.
Spitfire cleared her throat, casting a sideways glance at the expectant audience.
"Uh…" Mare-velous quickly grabbed the mic. "Unfortunately, the Masked Matter-Horn is out on patrol tonight." She chuckled nervously. "After all, some pony's gotta be watchin' the city while we're all partyin', am I right?"
The audience murmured and nodded to each other in collective agreement. The Power Ponies sighed in relief.
"Where is she really?" Zapp whispered to Mare-velous harshly.
Mare-velous narrowed her eyes. "My guess: the same place she's been all week."
Back at Headquarters, Twilight was staring hard at the monitors, which showed the security footage from the Canterlot Museum of Magic. She used her magic to click on the mouse and move from window to window.
"I know I'm missing something," she murmured to herself. "I just don't know what."
"Twilight?"
Shrieking in surprise, Twilight fell backward with the rolling chair. Spike's face peered over her.
"Spike?" she said as he helped her up. She then noticed he was wearing his fuzzy purple pajamas with dragon-faced feet. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
He crossed his arms. "Shouldn't you be at the Policeponies' Ball?"
Twilight stared at him in silence, and then sighed. "I wasn't in the mood."
He watched as she lifted the chair up and sat back down. "This wouldn't have to do with the fact that your ex-boyfriend is at that ball, would it?"
"No!" Twilight said a little too loudly. "I just…some pony had to watch the tower tonight and I volunteered. After all, who knows when Discord might pop up and try to steal his Amulet back?"
"Uh-huh," Spike said in disbelief as he gazed up at the giant screen. "Is that the footage from that gauntlet robbery?"
"Mmm-hmm," Twilight said, enlarging one of the windows.
"You're still looking at that?"
"It's puzzling." She rewound the footage and played it back for the millionth time that night. "I mean there's no indication of the thief anywhere! No shadow, no strand of hair, nothing! And the perpetrator couldn't have been invisible. We would've still seen the Gauntlets of Thor floating away! Or at least the glass case lifting all by itself!"
"Maybe they used magic to teleport it out of the case?" Spike asked.
"Without triggering the alarm? Impossible!" She switched to the video showing the empty glass case. "The podium has a weight sensor. If the Gauntlets were removed from it, even for a second, the alarm would've gone off!"
"Maybe they disabled the alarm?"
"But how?! Those alarms are magical! One cannot simply…disable them! You'd need to be very well-versed in magic to be able to do that!"
"But…wasn't Discord able to do that with your security spells?"
Twilight hung her head. "Discord's a god, Spike! Unless he or some other divine entity stole the Gauntlets, there was no way any pony could've done all this undetected!"
Spike tapped his chin. "Maybe it was a god. You think maybe Thor wanted his Gauntlets back?"
She shook her head. "You remember when Discord showed up, right? I don't think Thor would've been so subtle. I mean…he's Thor. He could just demand that his Gauntlets be returned, the same way Discord demanded his Amulet. He'd have no reason for being so sneaky."
"How would you know? You've never met Thor."
She threw up her hooves. "I don't even know if he exists!"
"We know the Gods of Grace exist though, right? Why not the Gods of Norwhinny?"
Letting out a groan, Twilight placed her head in her hooves. "Just go to bed, Spike."
He sighed. "Fine. But you should really consider taking a break from all of this. All week, you've done nothing but stare at this footage. You've missed five days at the office, two charity auctions, three public appearances, and now one ball. The only time you do break away from these monitors is when there's trouble."
She did not respond, nor did she turn around to look at him.
"Look, I'm no psychiatrist, Twilight, but I have a feeling you're putting in these extra hours as the Masked Matter-Horn because you're…avoiding something. Or some pony, maybe? Thing is I can't figure out if the pony you're avoiding is Flash or Sun—"
This time, she did turn around. And she was glaring at him hard.
"Okay, okay!" Spike said, backing away with his hands up. "I'll go to bed!"
He walked over to the elevator. As the doors closed, Twilight turned back to the screen. She replayed the part where the Gauntlets of Thor vanished. After the fifth repeat, she let out a sigh.
"Maybe Spike's right," she said, releasing her magical hold on the mouse. "Maybe I am just doing this to avoid…"
She paused, unsure of how that sentence finished. "Besides, there is no possible way to solve this. Whoever this thief is, they had pragmatically planned, and practically perpetrated, the perfect crime."
She flopped her face onto the keyboard and mumbled, "They've won."
Suddenly, Sunset's voice echoed in her head, "Why you giving up so soon, Sparkle?"
Then Twilight recalled a moment when she and Sunset were fourteen. They had been in the schoolyard, playing a game of chess. Young Twilight had used her magic to turn over her white king in surrender.
"You've won," she had said.
Examining the board, Sunset had said, "Come on, you've got at least three moves before that happens."
"But you've got me cornered. Every move will put me in check. There's no possible way I can win."
"That doesn't mean you should just give up. If you give up now, then you'll never know if you were able to beat me or not. Besides," she had said with a smirk, "what fun would it be for me if I only won by forfeit?"
Smiling softly, Twilight had repositioned her king and continued the game. Three moves later, Sunset had called checkmate.
"See?" Twilight had said. "I couldn't win."
"Yes," Sunset had said with a wink. "But you wouldn't have known that if you hadn't kept playing. Don't you feel better now, knowing you got through the whole game without giving up?"
Back in the present, Twilight lifted her head from the keyboard, her face imprinted with a tessellation of squares.
"You're right, Sunset," Twilight said, playing back the footage. "Don't give up on the game until it's over."
Just then, the General Badness Alarm went off, making Twilight groan in annoyance.
"Well, I could use a break anyway."
Spike came out of the elevator. "What's happened? What's going on?"
Twilight opened the Crime Tracker on the computer. She squinted at the red blinking dot on the city map.
"Typical," she said with a sigh. She picked up the commlink on the desk and put it back in her ear. "Girls, break-in at the Maretropolis Museum. Fili-Second, I'm going to need you to scout ahead, keep the perpetrator busy until I get there."
"On it!" Fili-Second piped.
"Need us to come too?" Zapp asked.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," Twilight said. "The rest of you just enjoy the party."
"Speaking of which," Radiance said, "why aren't you...?"
"Later, okay?" Twilight said, standing up.
"I'll come too!" Spike exclaimed, running to her side.
"No, Spike. I need you to stay here and guard the tower. If there's any more trouble, call the rest of the team."
Spike groaned. "Why am I always put on monitor duty?" He caught Twilight's glare. "I mean…right away, boss!"
He jumped onto the rolling chair while Twilight powered her horn.
Terra, pennae, cornibus…
The minute the Masked Matter-Horn crashed through the glass roof of the Maretropolis Museum, she knew something was wrong with this picture. No alarms were blaring. The thief must've disabled them, she thought.
But if that were the case, why hadn't the thief disabled the alarms before setting them off?
The Matter-Horn's ear twitched upon hearing a muffled cry from the next room. Powering her horn for good measure, she turned the corner and stepped over the red velvet rope to the new, unveiled Anugypt exhibit. There, leaning against an ancient column of hieroglyphs, were two security guards, a mare and a stallion, bound and gagged. The Matter-Horn quickly used her magic to free them.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," she said. "What happened?"
"We don't know," the mare said. "One minute, we're patrolling the halls, the next minute, the alarms are blaring."
"Only for half a minute though," said the stallion. "Then they suddenly stopped!"
"We came here to investigate, but then we were roped and gagged by magic!"
"Did you see the culprit?" the Mater-Horn asked.
They both shook their heads.
"But we know what they took," the mare said, pointing across the room. "The cuffs of Queen Neightocris."
The Matter-Horn turned to the empty glass case she was indicating. Upon further inspection, the alicorn realized it wasn't completely empty.
"Did the cuffs contain two black opals and four round pieces of lapis lazuli?" the Matter-Horn asked.
"Yes," the stallion said. "Why?"
"The cuffs are gone, but the jewels are still here. And I have a funny feeling they didn't simply fall out." She tapped her chin. "Why would the thief take the cuffs but deliberately leave the jewels?"
"Quite the riddle, isn't it?"
Jumping at the sudden voice, the Matter-Horn spun around to find the source. The guards looked around too, but there was no pony there.
"HELP!" said another voice.
This one, the hero recognized.
"Fili-Second?" She turned to the guards. "Get the police! And keep on guard! The thief is still here!"
She took flight and soared through the halls, listening for Fili-Second's high-pitched voice.
"Once I get outta these ropes, tall, dark and creepy shadow; you're in for a real flank-whooping!"
She followed the voice to the Norwhinnean exhibit. Fili-Second lay in the middle of the room, her hooves tied up.
"Mattie!" Fili-Second cried. "About time you showed up! I came over for backup like you told me to, but then the alarms just suddenly stopped and it got real spooky and I thought I could hear something but I couldn't find the thief anywhere but before I knew it I was tied up!"
"Hang on," the Matter-Horn said, landing next to her. "How could you have been tied up? You're the fastest thing alive."
"I'm telling you! It's another super speedster like me, only evil!"
"I don't think they've left yet. Let's get you out of here."
She prepared her horn to release her colleague, when her horn was suddenly encased in flames. Shrieking, the Matter-Horn quickly doused the fire with a water spell.
"Ah, ah, ah," said the same disembodied voice from earlier. It was at such a neutral pitch that the heroes couldn't decide if it was male or female. "Sorry, sweetie, but I'd like to keep the game one-on-one. Evens the odds, you know."
Flapping her wings, the alicorn looked around. "Show yourself."
A low chuckle was heard. "Now, now, you can't expect me to make it that easy for you."
"The voice seems to be coming from everywhere," the Matter-Horn muttered to herself. "Ventriloquism?"
"I love puppets!" Fili-Second exclaimed.
"Close," the voice said.
"Of course," the Matter-Horn said, glancing at her bound-up friend. "You obviously know magic, so you must be casting a ventriloquist spell."
"Correct. Good luck trying to find me."
"So if you're casting a spell," the alicorn murmured, "your magic must be emitting some kind of aura," she rested her eyes on a display case of shields in the corner, "which means," she used her magic to slide the case aside, "it makes a very distinct sound!"
Sure enough, a unicorn-shaped figure had been hiding behind the display case, its horn emitting green magic which also surrounded its throat. The thief doused their magic and sprinted along the wall.
"Oh, no you don't!" the Matter-Horn cried, charging her horn. "Freeze ray!"
But as she shot her ice beam, a fiery dome surrounded the thief, evaporating the ice into steam. The Matter-Horn gasped.
"A fire shield?"
"You might want to call out your attacks after you fire them!" the thief shouted over her shoulder.
Without the voice-altering spell, she sounded distinctly female now. She skidded to a halt so fast the Matter-Horn almost flew into her.
"For example," the thief said.
In a split second, the Matter-Horn was hit with a magical beam that set her wings on fire.
"Flamethrower!" the thief exclaimed, running as the hero wailed in agony.
Quickly spraying water from her horn, the Matter-Horn extinguished herself. When she looked up, she saw the thief climbing up the wall, her hooves glowing with green magic.
"Is that," the Matter-Horn said in disbelief, "an adhesive spell?"
"Pretty cool, huh?" the thief said as she neared the glass roof the Matter-Horn had broken earlier. "Comes in handy. Or should I say," she giggled, waving her glowing front hoof, "hoof-y?"
Growling in annoyance, the Matter-Horn zoomed upwards. To her surprise, the thief didn't hasten her climb, only waited. Then she leaped off the wall and onto the Matter-Horn's back. Pushing her legs upwards, the thief sprang towards the hole in the roof.
"Thanks for the lift!" she called cheerfully.
The Matter-Horn gaped as the thief shot through the hole, did a barrel roll and landed on the glass roof like a cat. Shaking it off, the hero flew up after her. The thief was laughing as she was reaching the edge of the roof.
"Honestly," she said, "this was an easier job than Thor's Gauntlets!"
She looked like she was about ready to jump to the next building.
That's it, the Matter-Horn thought. No more Miss Nice Mare.
Her horn glowed red. Throwing her head back, she shot a thick laser beam at the thief, striking her back hoof. Crying out, the thief lost her balance and landed flat on her face. She rolled over, but the Masked Matter-Horn was quicker. Pressing down on the thief's shoulders, the alicorn pinned her to the ground.
In the light of the moon, the hero was finally able to get a good look at the thief, who was wincing in pain. Her tight-fitting suit was a dark maroon, which covered her whole body, save her eyes and mouth. The golden cuffs of Queen Neightocris were on her front ankles, devoid of jewels. Her eyes opened, revealing them to be a deep sea green.
The thief glanced down at her damaged hoof. It was so badly burnt, it was smoking.
"End of the line," the Matter-Horn said, crouching over her foe. "Next time you want jewelry, go to Bray's."
The thief locked eyes with her and then smirked. "What keeps coming back even after it bursts into flames?"
The non sequitur caused the hero to blink back in befuddlement. "What?"
The scoundrel only widened her grin as her horn glowed orange. The Matter-Horn prepared her own horn to fight when the biggest surprise of all came.
The thief burst into flames.
Jumping backward, the Matter-Horn watched in alarm as the flames died down and the thief was nowhere to be seen. Horrified, the hero looked around. Had the thief burned herself to death? Impossible, for there would've at least been ash marks in her place.
Just then, the Matter-Horn heard a whoosh behind her. Turning around, she saw a gulf of flames extinguishing on the roof of the next building, the thief appearing in its place. Too stunned to respond, the hero's jaw dropped. The thief only cackled.
"Haven't guessed yet?"
She sprinted off, and the Matter-Horn was about to pursue her, when she teleported, this time without flames. Furious, the alicorn soared upwards and examined the rooftops from a bird's-eye view. But the thief had vanished without a trace.
"MY PRECIOUS MUSEUM!" Mr. Fetlock cried once the police showed up. "RUINED!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Fetlock," the Masked Matter-Horn said assuredly. "We'll be sure the cuffs are returned as soon as possible."
"I'm not talking about the cuffs!" He pointed up to the glass ceiling. "I'm talking about that hole you made in my roof!"
"Oh." The alicorn blushed. "Well, I was trying to catch the thief."
"I don't care! Every time you Power Ponies come in here, something either gets stolen or damaged!" He poked her in the chest. "And how come you are never sent to jail for it?!"
Chief Spitfire, who was still in her dinner jacket, placed her hoof between the Matter-Horn and the curator. "Mr. Fetlock, we'd like to ask you a few questions concerning the stolen artifacts."
As the chief led him away, he sent the Matter-Horn a death glare, which sent a chill up the hero's spine.
"Sheesh," Fili-Second said, zipping to her side. "What's his problem?"
"Find anything?" the Matter-Horn asked.
Fili-Second shook her head. "Searched the whole place top to bottom to left to right. No clues anywhere."
"Excuse me, Miss Matter-Horn?"
The alicorn winced at the familiar voice. Not now, she thought.
"Can I have your autograph?" Flash Sentry asked, holding up his notepad. "I'm a big fan of yours."
The Matter-Horn put on a big smile before facing him. "Of course."
She used her magic to grab his pen.
"I'm sure you'll catch the thief," Flash said, staring at her in awe. "You always manage to catch them in the end."
She said nothing as she signed the notepad and handed him back his pen.
"Flash, go interview those security guards, would you?" Spitfire said, pushing him aside. "Sorry about that, Matter-Horn. Officer Sentry is a bit…unprofessional."
"No problem," the Matter-Horn said softly, watching Flash's back as he left.
"Now, are you certain you've told us everything?"
"Yes. The thief was a unicorn, and she was pretty advanced in magic."
"Really?" Fili-Second asked. "You mean not all unicorns can be all ventriloquist-y or fire shield-y?"
"As if those spells weren't hard enough, she managed to cast the Phoenix Charm!"
"What's the Phoenix Charm?" Spitfire asked.
The Matter-Horn shook her head. "It's an extremely complex, extremely dangerous, and extremely forbidden spell. The theory is that one can rejuvenate oneself using flames in the same way an aging phoenix bursts into flames and then is reborn from the ashes. That thief's hoof was badly burnt, but after disappearing into flames and then reappearing several feet away, her hoof looked as good as new, and she was able to run again!"
"Phoenix, huh?" Spitfire said, making a note in her book. "And you are certain this was the same thief who stole Thor's Gauntlets in Canterlot?"
The alicorn nodded. "She admitted it, and somehow I think she deliberately captured Fili-Second while in the Norwhinnean exhibit to leave us a hint. But the thief that stole the Gauntlets didn't leave a clue behind, didn't trigger any alarms. If she's the same thief, why would she be so careless this time?"
The chief shrugged. "Thieves can make mistakes."
"Not this one," the Matter-Horn muttered, rubbing her chin. "Somehow, I have a feeling she's incapable of making mistakes."
The next morning, the newspapers and channels were all abuzz about Maretropolis' latest criminal. Apparently, some pony had been watching the rooftop battle between the thief and the Matter-Horn from their apartment window and filmed it with their phone, capturing the thief's fiery escape. As consequence, the tabloids were calling her "The Phoenix."
All Power Ponies were gathered in the tower. Twilight paced in front of the monitors as she voiced her thoughts.
"It just doesn't make any sense," she said in a murmur. "Doesn't make any sense."
Seeing as how their unofficial leader was preoccupied, Applejack decided to take the reins of this briefing. Standing up from the couch, she said, "Okay, what do we know about this thief so far?"
"She's real tricky," Rainbow Dash said, sipping a soda can.
"And has no sense of fashion," Rarity said. "In what universe is maroon a suitable camouflage?"
"And she seems to like really old things," Pinkie said, hanging upside down on the couch while using a rubber band to make a cat's cradle.
Fluttershy suddenly burst into laughter. Everyone turned to see that she was talking on her cell.
"Oh, you are just awful!" She giggled. "Please, you're making me blush!"
Twilight cleared her throat. Fluttershy turned to see the others glaring at her.
"Sorry, I have to go," she said into the phone. After a second, she smiled. "No, you hang up." She laughed. "No,
you hang up! No, you hang—"
Rainbow snatched her phone and flipped it closed.
"Whoever were you talking to?" Rarity asked.
Fluttershy's cheeks turned pink. "No pony."
Applejack rolled her eyes. "I'll bet it was that Delancey fella."
"Who's Delancey?" Spike asked.
"Just this colt Fluttershy's been seein'."
Rarity gasped loudly. "You have a gentlecolt friend?!"
"No!" Fluttershy blushed deeper. "Well, I mean…we never really talked about it but…" She gave a small smile. "I mean we've been seeing each other a lot and…I like him, and he makes me laugh and…"
Rarity sat down beside her. "Details, please!"
"Ahem!" Twilight exclaimed. "Have you forgotten we have more pressing matters to deal with?"
"Right," Rarity said, straightening up. "This Phoenix character, she seems to be adept at magic."
"Complicated magic," Twilight said. "I've never seen any pony cast a Phoenix Charm to perfection."
"Just how complicated is it?" Spike asked.
"It's next to impossible! One cannot set oneself aflame without burning oneself to a crisp! To use such a method to heal oneself would be improbable!"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "How do ya know about this charm?"
Twilight locked gaze with her. "Let's just say I've done my research." She turned to the monitors, which bore pictures of the items stolen. "This has got to be the most puzzling adversary I've ever faced." She looked towards the Gauntlets of Thor. "First, she pulls off the perfect crime," she said, turning to the Anugyptian cuffs, "but then at her second job, she triggers an alarm, lets herself be caught on camera, and doesn't leave the crime scene immediately! Why would she make so many mistakes when she had already proven she could pull something off like this so flawlessly?"
"You'd think she wanted to be caught," Pinkie said, getting her hooves tangled in the rubber band.
Twilight's face lit up. "Pinkie, you're a genius!"
Pinkie grinned as she attempted to wrench her hooves free. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Of course. That explains it!" Twilight threw her hooves in the air. "She set the alarm off on purpose, and then switched it off before I arrived!"
"Long enough to alert the tower," Applejack said, glancing at the General Badness Alarm.
"But not long enough to alert the police," Rarity said, "because they were all at the ball."
"Then the Phoenix must've counted on us showing up," Rainbow said, "because she was ready for Fili!"
"Think she used some kind of spell to trap me?" said Pinkie, who was now in a pretzel position with her rubber band.
"It's possible," Twilight said. "Aside from a super-speed spell, there is a time-altering spell that can make everything around you move in slow motion. But both those spells are almost as advanced as the Phoenix Charm!"
"So the thief was waiting…for us?" Fluttershy asked with a shiver.
Twilight rubbed her chin. "It would seem that way. There's something strange about the items she stole too. Thor's Gauntlets, though powerful, are completely useless without Thor's Hammer, which, of course, has never been found. And the monetary value of Neightocris' cuffs decreases immensely without the jewels, yet she deliberately left them behind."
She turned back to the screen in thought. "It's like…the thief isn't after power or money. So what is she after?"
Rainbow checked her watch. "Well, I better get back to the museum. We've got a mummy coming in today and I'm supposed to help Mr. Fetlock with that." She rolled her eyes as she stood. "He's especially cranky after last night."
"I'd better return to work too," Rarity said.
"Me too," Fluttershy said.
"Pinkie and I have a few places to see for our bakery," Applejack said. "But call us if ya need anythin'."
As their colleagues filed out of the room, Spike let out a yawn.
"Maybe we should catch some z's. We were up all night watching and re-watching the museum footage."
Twilight didn't take her eyes off the screen. "You get some rest. Some pony's gotta watch the tower."
With a shrug, Spike headed for the elevator. Twilight clicked on the window showing the footage of the Phoenix bursting into flames. She asked herself the same question she'd been asking for the past week.
How is she able to accomplish the impossible?
Her colleagues couldn't give her the answer. They didn't understand this sort of magic. But she knew someone who did.
Her eyes moved in the direction of her purse. Using her magic, she unclasped it and withdrew Sunset Shimmer's business card.
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You need to put spaces around your italicized words. They blend into the words around them. Makes it hard to read.
This was a good chapter, but reading it was a bit problematic due to a lack of spaces between italicized words. Made those parts of the sentence kinda blur together.
That aside, I really enjoyed reading this! I was especially impressed with Twilight/Matterhorn's fight with The Phoenix at the museum, that was some pretty good superhero action stuff. XD Character-wise, I also liked Twilight and Spike's scene earlier on, that was well done.
And finally, the mention of Fluttershy and her "friend" Delancey was most entertaining XD
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It must've been a technical error, because they weren't like that before.
Same as Tatsurou, there are a lot of blanded words that need spaces, but otherwise, thank you for the update!
Also, I like you mentioning Delancy, can't wait to see what part he plays in later chapters, and if he'll find out about Saddle Ragger.
She's doing this for fun. The items are pointless yet no one else can claim to have snatched them from such ultra secure and magically guarded protected places. That's what Sunset's after. The thrill of stealing.
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I went back and fixed them. I think there was an error when copying and pasting the text. I think I got them all.
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That's good to hear. Oh, and good luck with things!
*reading the chapter; picks up the notion of a mystery about half-way through*
well now, time to see if I can solve this before the ponies themselves...
*a section or two later...*
okay, so far the clues are pointing to...no; no, PLEASE tell me we're not going there...
*having reached the chapter's end*
(sigh) I think I've got it figured out an answer, but I'd rather keep it to myself for now: strange as it sounds, I want to be wrong...or at the very least figure/find out why (insert name here) is doing all of this...
So the Phoenix makes her debut and Flash is no longer with Twilight but crushes on Matterhorn. Very interesting indeed.
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Blame FimFiction. I fixed it now.
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Okay, I will.
Curse you, FimFiction! XD
So this chapter, with that name, introduces an adversary for Matter Horn. Matter Horn, who is like the Batman of the Power Ponies. And this adversary, described as a Catwoman/Riddler combo, is well adept in magic, uses a Phoenix type spell, and has a horn that emits green and red magic.
Well, trying to figure out who this is leaves my mind like the bottom portion of a tree after the rest of it is chopped down.
*Takes a moment to play taps for the end of the FlashLight ship.* I knew it was coming.
Methinks the lady doth protest too much... but wait is there... No. I not going to build myself up over this. Goodbye FlashLight in this story. Don't look at mehehe
Ohohohoh, I know this one! I know this one! A Phoniex!... No No No... its a Sunset!!!
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To be just, Flash was revealed to be a fanboy of the Matterhorn during the first date of the two.
But the ship has sunk... give me a minute...don't look at mehehe
A lot of words aren't spaced from each other. Particularly any of the italicized ones.
If Twilight mentioned a time-altering spell, then that might be what was used to steal the Gauntlets. Stop/slow time so that Phoenix could disable the alarm, remove the Gauntlets, then get away without being caught.
And with her actual appearance in this chapter, I'm liking the Riddler/Catwoman combo. She likes to mess with anyone and show off her intellect.
XD Fluttershy has a boyfriend~ Fluttershy has a boyfriend~ Fluttershy has a boyfriend~ and Rarity wants to hear about the romance XD
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Yes I remember that. Twilight is just like Robin looking for Deathstroke.
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Robin looking for Deathstrok... Oh, Deathstroke was called Slade in Teen Titans...
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Yep. Slade Wilson is his real name. I'm glad you got that.
8674498
I knew that. I have seen this
But now that I think about it... How did Robin know Deathstroke's first name?
Why did Deathstroke go by his real first name?
Teen Titans was kid's show.
8674508
That's true. I guess Deathstroke would've been too much. I'm not really sure either.
Hi Sunset!
8674508
To be honest, I think Slade is a better villain name then Deathstroke, anyway.
TWILIGHT:"I am totally in over my head here... Maybe... maybe I should talk to my teammates for help... No, no, no, that's exactly what she'd expect...I know. I'll contact my friend, (Who is definitely not the Phoenix) and ask her how to defeat the Phoenix."
But seriously, Good Job on the chapter.
8674429
Blame fimfiction
I forgot to add this to my review on Fanfiction, at the end of the chapter I find it ironic Twilight doesn't trust her teammates about her past when in the last arc she told the team they needed trust exercises so I'm sure that when Twilight gets in trouble they're going to be very upset with her. Also I'm trying to remember if Soarin is on the force because I don't recall him in earlier chapters or at the ball but if he isn't are you going to make him a rookie in later chapters and have him and Rainbow Dash cross paths? And actually have one successful cop-Power Pony romance? Because so far, we got Fluttercord, Flashlight, Sunlight, and hints of AppleSpike so it makes me wonder if your other ships will appear as well.
Oh shoot for Flashlight.
I imagine Twilight going at Sunset's for her advices and while she waits Sunset to do who knows what, she finds the stuff the stole and being all like "Oh my gosh it's her" but says nothing so Sunset wouldn't find out that she's Masked Matter-Horn —if she hasn't find out yet.
Ya know, even if I din't already know who Phoenix actually was, I'd still have figured it out right away since it's honestly so bloody obvious. Seriously, why to people seem to want to write Twi without common sense? She should of already figured out who Phoenix really was!
But still, I'm glad to see an update. Though I still have two questions: Are all mythologie's true in this universe and who is the strongest god? Come on, it's not like the answers will spoil anything! I need to know!
Oh just wait until Flutters realizes that Delancy is Discord in disguise!
8675148
I must come to terms with it.
... Don't look at me!
And the irony seems to be lost on Twilight.
And if anything is going to tear the team apart, it will be Twilight's refusal to tell the others her origins... I see this blowing up in her face and the team ending...
Wait will there be a moment that Twilight goes to Flash in the rain and confesses ...
No, Disneyfan ships SunLight... I must not build myself up... the FlashLight ship in this story has sunk.
8676839
I know, when I first started reading this story, I was really surprised that Flash made an appearance at all! But I knew I couldn't get my hopes up about them being together. Honestly, I would have been shocked if she had kept them together, then this would be like the Bride of Discord universe where Zany and Twinkle would be born and they would get together. Hey! I just thought of something! How neat would it be if the Power Ponies were caught in a time machine or time spell and would be forced to go into the future and meet their kids! I know it's been done before but I've seen a lot of superhero TV shows that have done this and since it is a pony superhero world, so why not?
The Twin
I feel like the pony who just got out of jail and is extremely well-versed in forbidden magic should be a suspect by now.
Also Fluttershy and Discord being all coupley on the phone...
adorabley perfect
'Bout time we ran into a thief that's more invested in their pursuers than the items they've stolen. Especially casting complicated magic like this certainly points fingers (err...hooves) at some ponies but you never know with you at times. You like to toss curve balls and I love every second of it. Take all the time you need and good luck in that contest.
A Catwoman/Riddler themed villain with the magic to back it up. Now that's certainly a worrying thought.
8677266
I can see Fili-second running so fast she breaks the time barrier and goes on a Flashpoint arc like story arch...
But ... yeah, concerning FlashLight I need to... well Elsa said it best
(I regret NOTHING!)
But for some reason, I got the following scene stuck in my head...
The Masked Matterhorn looked up to Flash's apartment, the rain could not wash the pain she felt away. Her team had left her, even Spike. She had no one to go to. She flew up to the fire-escape and knocked.
Flash opened the door, "The Mask..." he started to say only to cut short as he saw the tears that could not be hidden from the rain, "Come in, let's dry you off." He said as he stepped aside to let her in and fetch a towel.
Twilight nodded as she accepted the towel. Flash laid a few more towels down on his couch. "Sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone."
"It's okay." Matterhorn all but whimpered as she took a seat. She looked up Flash was making tea. "Thank you," she whispered.
"No prob." Flash said as he arrived with a tray of tea, "Sorry for the fanboying..." Flash looked away with a nervous laugh. He then saw Matterhorn start to cry. "Would you like a hug?" Flash asked nervously. Matterhorn looked at Flash and the dove at him, wrapping her forelegs around him. Flash expected her to bury her mussel into his shoulder but froze as he felt her lips on his.
Matterhorn broke the kiss, and got off him, "I am sorry, you're just trying to be a good host...", she soon felt Flash renewed the hug.
Flash whispered into her ear, "It's okay you need somepony's company."
"Flash," Matterhorn whimpered as she completed the hug and cried into his shoulder. She stopped for a second, "Please don't leave me tonight." She pleaded. Flash nodded in silence. Matterhorn buried her mussel back into Flash's shoulder, her body shaking as her world was coming down around her.
8678619
It's a nice thought, but I'm pretty sure DF won't go further on Twilight and Flash's past relationship, their interactions are pretty much over at this point.
8679217
I know... it is just the last breath before the plunge.
despicable me 2 reference!
8686199
Finally someone notices!
8687763 really? i would've thought more people would get that. yay, first to get the reference!!!!!!!
That was perfect when Flutters stared laughing
Bwhahaha daww such a cute and funny and unexpected Fluttercord moment^^ Love it^^ Though, I missed that we were able to see this first date between Fluttershy and Delancey, oh well this works too:)