Welcome to the Planet
A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Fanfiction
Written by Jade Dawn
The doors to Canterlot Castle's throne room loomed high over Fluttershy's head as she gazed up at them. Just looking at them made her feel small and insignificant, even knowing that the one who sat on the throne behind them thought nothing of the sort of her. Eventually she decided to turn her gaze to somewhere else in the great hall outside the throne room, settling on looking at the tall stained glass windows along the walls, each bearing a beautifully colored rendition of a moment in Equestrian history. Some were of long distant events, such as the first Hearth's Warming or Celestia and Luna's battle with Discord. Others were more recent; the return of Nightmare Moon, the Changeling invasion of Canterlot, Tirek's rampage and defeat, and so forth.
Newest of all were a pair of windows closest to the throne room doors; one depicted the so-called "Battle of the Bell", with almost the entirety of Equestria and the lands beyond united as one against the combined forces of Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow. The last mural following it was one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's coronation, about half a year ago as of now, and Fluttershy could confirm from experience that it depicted the event far less hectically than it had actually gone.
Nearby her were Rainbow Dash and Rarity, the latter of whom was busy making sure her mane and general appearance were up to her standards. Rainbow, meanwhile, was leaned against one of the hall's pillars, her forelegs crossed and her head restlessly knocking against the pillar's side.
Rainbow moaned. "How long are we gonna be waiting?" She grumbled. "If the summons was really all that urgent you'd think they'd have let us in by now!"
"Now now, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said as she gave her hooves a look over. "At least try to show some level of patience. Twilight's been a busy mare ever since she took the throne. I think it should be expected that she isn't going to be able to get to us right away."
"Yeah, but what if it's something really big and important and we're just wasting time sitting out here?"
"Um..." Fluttershy interjected. "I think if there was really some sort of emergency Twilight would have gotten to us by now. And she probably would've sounded a lot more urgent in her letters to us."
"Fluttershy's right, darling," Rarity said. "Now I'll be perfectly frank, I haven't the foggiest clue why she asked us to come all the way to Canterlot to see her, but if it was something particularly serious I think she would have let us know."
Rainbow huffed. "Still annoying just sitting here. I mean, c'mon, we're her friends. We should have, like, passports or something."
"Well that wouldn't be very fair to other ponies and creatures who need to see her," Fluttershy said. "I think she'd want to be as impartial as possible."
"Ugh, fair enough."
At that moment the throne room doors opened a crack, and the armored head of a royal guard peeked out. "Princess Twilight will see you now."
Rarity smiled at Rainbow Dash as she walked toward the door. "There, see? That wasn't too long of a wait, now was it, darling?"
Rainbow just rolled her eyes as she joined Fluttershy in following Rarity through the door, the guard opening it wider to allow them entry into the throne room beyond.
For the most part the great expanse of the Canterlot throne room was much the same as it had been the last time they had visited, although Rarity's eye for style quickly picked up on a few little changes here and there; new banners along the walls, some changes to the pillar designs, definitely signs of new coats of paint on the walls.
But of course the main focus of everypony's attention was the lavender alicorn sitting on the throne at the room's far end, a winged purple and green dragon sitting by her side. Almost as soon as the trio had cleared the door and left it to shut behind them, the alicorn had unfurled her wings and swept toward them, clearing the distance in little less than a second.
"Girls!" Twilight said happily as she embraced her friends in a tight hug with hooves and wings. "I'm so glad you could make it. How was the trip up? Did I keep you waiting long? Oh geez, I hope I didn't..."
"It was...fine," Rainbow said, her irritation mostly dissipated.
"It's good to see you too, Twilight," said Fluttershy. "Are you doing alright?"
"Oh, I'm doing fine," Twilight replied. "Royalty gets a little monotonous sometimes, and at its worse there's a bit of stress...
"Any more Twilighting?" Rainbow asked with a smirk.
"Har har. Nah, I've been doing what I can to cut back on that. And hey, whatever comes up, it's nothing that organizational skills and friends can't solve, right?"
"Hey, speaking of friends," Spike said as he came up to the ponies. "Got any extra love for me?"
In response Rarity reached out with a foreleg and embraced him in a hug of her own. "Well of course, Spikey-Wikey. Things haven't been quite the same without you around."
"Aw, thanks..." Spike replied, blushing a little.
"So what's the sitch, Twilight?" Rainbow asked. "Friendship problem? Tartarus breakout? World in peril again?"
"I hope it's nothing serious," Fluttershy said, a tone of concern in her voice.
Twilight frowned a little. "Well, that's the thing, Fluttershy...I'm honestly not sure."
"Well tell us, darling," Rarity said. "Whatever is the matter?"
Twilight turned to Spike. "Spike? Would you mind bringing over the paper?
"On it," Spike replied, unfurling his wings and flying back to the throne. While he did so Twilight addressed her three friends.
"I'll get straight to the point. Have any of you ever heard of 'Supermane'?"
The three ponies blinked.
"Uh, who?"
"Can't say I have...
"News to me, darling."
"Hmm," Twilight nodded. "Well, it seems that recently Manehattan has had a new vigilante begin prowling around its streets. From what I've heard, ponies over there have taken to calling him 'Supermane'."
"Goodness..." Rarity said. "And who exactly is this Supermane?"
Twilight shrugged. "Nopony seems to know. He's an earth pony, that much we know, but he's one of supposedly, erm...abnormal qualities."
"'A-abnormal'?" Fluttershy asked. "'Abnormal' how?"
"Got the paper, Twi," Spike said as he returned, carrying a newspaper in one claw.
"Thank you, Spike," Twilight said as she lifted the paper in her magic and held it up to show her friends. "Here. You might get a better idea if you read it for yourselves."
The newspaper's name, the Daily Planet, was printed in a stylish font at the top overlaying an image of a globe, and beneath it was the large bolded headline and the article it accompanied.
SUPERMANE STRIKES AGAIN!
FOILS MUGGING ATTEMPT IN FOURTH SIGHTING THIS MONTH.
VANISHES WITHOUT A TRACE AGAIN.Story by Lucky Lead
Our city’s mysterious benefactor has made another appearance, as the Manehattan Police Department confirmed earlier today that the would-be victim of a mugging last night claimed that she was rescued by none other than the mysterious, so-called Supermane. The young mare–who has requested she remain anonymous–reported that her enigmatic savior appeared without warning, having no reaction to the robbers' attacks, catching up to them with lightning speed when they tried to flee and leaving them incapacitated, before disappearing into the night without a trace. And while the MPD has neither confirmed or denied Supermane's existence in any official capacity, this latest story tracks with the tales that have circulated the city streets since six months ago...
See SUPERMANE Page 2
Beside the article itself was a picture, labelled as an artistic sketch of Supermane's appearance based on reports. It showed a large stallion, clothed in a dark shirt and hooded cloak that shadowed his face, hovering above the ground, his eyes glowing with an almost fiery light. Emblazoned on his shirt in vivid red was a curving, S-like symbol framed in a similarly colored diamond shape.
"Oh my," Fluttershy whispered as she looked at the picture. "He looks...scary."
"Oh my indeed," Rarity murmured as she read.
"Pretty freaky, huh?" Spike said. "It's like something out of a Power Ponies comic."
"When did you first hear about him?" Fluttershy asked.
"Since I took the throne, actually," Twilight answered. "I've been getting letters from the Manehattan city council since the day I started.”
“Hate to admit it,” Spike said, “but at first we kind of wrote them off. Thought the police could investigate it. But then the reports kept piling in. He seems to have gotten a bit more active in the past couple months. Or at the very least more ponies have claimed to have seen him.”
“And of course with that…” Twilight picked up again, “…comes more letters and petitions to do something about him."
"Lemme see that," Rainbow said as she took the paper in her hooves and read through the article. "Earth pony stallion, okay...super strength...possible sixth sense...speed, levitation, heat vision...yeah, no. This ain't legit, Twilight, this is just another Mare-Do-Well type thing. It's some kind of stunt."
"I thought it might be too," Twilight said. "But after I thought about it some more I realized that it just didn't make sense; he's been said to have displayed all of his reported range of powers in full view. There's no way it can be more than one pony."
"Okay, so really good special effects then. Or magic. Like, has nopony stopped to think that maybe this is just some earth pony with a magic artifact under that cape? Or maybe he's got a friend lifting him from somewhere off in a corner or something."
"However he works, he does,” Twilight said. “And nopony knows exactly how."
"Does anypony know what he wants?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Nope. He doesn't seem to talk all that much and when he does he keeps it brief. But from what they've been saying so far, he seems to be mostly benign. The only ponies he's really hurt in any way seem to be criminals or would-be thieves. And even then he never seems to do anything more than a few hits to the head to knock them out or tying them to a streetlight or something.”
"Well," Rarity said. "He certainly seems to be quite the enigma. But what does this have to do with–" She paused as the realization crossed her mind. "Oooooh."
"Mm-hmm," Twilight said. "That's why I've asked you three here. If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like you to go to Manehattan and see what you can learn about him."
"Hold up," Rainbow said. "You want us to go chasing down this guy? Isn't this a job for, like, a detective or something?"
Twilight sighed. "If I could have I would have gotten a more proper investigation put together. Unfortunately, I'm set to attend a delegation with Prince Rutherford later this week, and it's kind of eaten up most of my attention." She paused and smiled at her friends. "But really, I don't know whom I'd rather trust the job to. We've handled tough situations before, and a lot of them worse than what this probably will amount too. Believe me, girls. I have the utmost confidence in each of you."
"Honestly, I think you guys could get farther than an official inspection," Spike said. "I mean, no offense to them or anything."
"But..." Fluttershy said. "...but where would we even start?"
"Well, I'd suggest starting with the Daily Planet," Twilight said, pointing a hoof to the newspaper's title. "From what I've heard and read so far they seem to be the ones with the biggest amount of Supermane coverage in the city. They might be able to give you a few tips on what they know."
“What about Applejack and Pinkie Pie?" Rarity asked. "Will they be joining us as well?"
"Unfortunately not," Twilight answered. "Harvest season is in full swing so Applejack's going to be kept busy. And I've asked Pinkie Pie to help me with the Yakyakistan delegation...which means between that and my usual duties I'll be unavailable as well. I mean, if some kind of emergency comes up down there I could probably get us all together and come down to the city, but at the moment I'm afraid we'll be indisposed." She paused. “I know this is a bit out of the blue. And really, it might not be anything serious. But if it’s at all possible for you to take a look into this, then believe me, I’d be grateful.”
The trio exchanged glances. For a moment they stood in silence, as though quietly discussing it amidst their thoughts. Finally the silence was broken by Fluttershy.
"Well...if you think it's important enough to ask for our help, then...I'd be willing to go."
Rainbow Dash spoke up next. "Hey, if Fluttershy's willing to go, then I guess I am too." She turned to look at Rarity. "Rarity? You comin' or you gonna pass?”
“And miss out the chance to solve a mystery, help my friends, and have a good reason to visit Manehattan again? Surely not! Consider me in, Twilight.”
"Well, Twi," Rainbow said. "I guess that means we've got a super pony to find."
Twilight smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Thank you."
"We'll begin preparations as soon as we get back to Ponyville," Rarity said as the group began to head out to the doors. "With luck, we should be headed out to Manehattan by tomorrow morning."
"And don't worry about this Supermane guy," Rainbow said, returning the newspaper to Twilight's magical grasp as she spoke. "Whoever he is, whatever he wants...we'll get it all worked out."
"Believe me, I know you will," Twilight said. "Just make sure to write me when you think you're on to something. Take care."
With that the three ponies exited the throne room, the great doors closing behind them with a low boom. For a moment, Twilight stood before the closed doors, then turned to Spike with a sigh.
"Am I doing the right thing, Spike?" she asked. "Sending them out there to face Celestia-knows-what like this?"
Spike shrugged. “C’mon, Twi. This isn't the weirdest thing any of us have faced. They've totally got this. They'll figure out what's what and everypony in Manehattan can chill out for a while. No sweat."
Twilight mulled his words over for a moment. ”…yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
She flipped to the front of the newspaper again and looked at the sketch of Supermane.
"And y'know...call it a gut feeling, but...somehow I think that he may need them to find him.”
The three ponies felt the train rumble beneath their seats as it chugged its way towards the bridge that connected the Equestrian mainland to the island upon which the metropolis of Manehattan sat. Through the windows, the city's towering skyline grew ever larger as the train neared its destination. Already the ponies could make out the Crystaller Building looming the highest over the rest of the city, and the Statue of Harmony standing proudly on its own little island in the Manehattan bay.
Fluttershy was looking out the windows, watching the skyline for the Daily Planet building. Rarity was right beside her, ogling at the sight and anxiously awaiting the moment when she could step off the train and back into the great city. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was leaned back in her seat, looking over a copy of the newspaper that Twilight had shown them the day before. Between their seats was their little pile of luggage; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's few belongings that they had brought, and the oversized trunk that Rarity always brought along on trips such as this.
"'S' for 'Supermane, huh?" Rainbow muttered as she read the paper.
"What was that, darling?" Rarity asked.
"His logo," Rainbow said as she pointed to the sketch. "'S' for Supermane." She shook her head. "Kinda show-offy if you ask me."
"'Show-offy'? Well you're one to talk, the way you brag…”
"Hey, I don't brag! I'm just being honest about myself! Just ask Applejack."
"Sure, Rainbow, sure..."
"My point," Dash said with a bit of irritation. "Is that it just seems way too flashy for some vigilante trying to stay under the radar. If that doesn't point to somepony trying to get attention with a hoax then I don't know what does."
"Is that the Daily Planet building?" Fluttershy asked. She pointed a hoof at a medium-sized building nestled amidst the towers, recognizable for the large copper-colored globe that adorned its highest point.
"Indeed it is, Fluttershy," Rarity affirmed. "One of the city's older papers, actually."
"Funny I never heard about it before," Rainbow said.
"Do you have an interest in newspapers?"
“…okay yeah, fair enough."
"Well that definitely looks new," Fluttershy said. As the train grew ever closer to the city the ponies could now see that there was a single thick track erected on pylons that rose about thirty feet off the ground, curling its way between the skyscrapers. As they watched they saw something like a very smooth, streamlined train, glistening silver and white with black windows, speedily making its way down the track closest to the bay.
"Huh," Rainbow said. "I don't remember that being there the last time we were here."
"Ah yes," Rarity said. "That's the new public monorail system that the city installed recently. Something to do with magnetic lift or something or other; very fast, very high tech, so I hear. They say it's the smoothest-running train in all of Equestria."
“No kidding,” Fluttershy murmured as she watched the monorail go along its way, making a kind of humming sound that they could faintly make out over the city's usual din as it went by. Then the view was cut off by a wall of buildings as their train reached the other side of the bridge.
"We should be pulling into Maneway Station soon," Rarity said. "Let's get ourselves ready. We should get our rooms booked at the hotel before we head on over to the Planet."
A few hours later, rooms booked and luggage unpacked, the trio made their way to the Daily Planet building in the heart of the city. Despite not standing quite as tall as the Manehattan's other skyscrapers, the structure still loomed high above the ponies' heads as they approached its entrance; a tall, tan-colored building built in an Art Deco style, adorned with gargoyles around its middle and upper floors, and the paper's name written vertically on the side facing out on the street. The most notable feature was, of course, the large globe that capped the top of the building. Seen closer now they could see it was quite ornate, decorated with a pattern of Equus's continents and ringed by a pair of metal hoops bearing the Daily Planet name between them, going around the globe in a manner that suggested a planetary ring.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Rarity said as they approached. "Such lovely architecture."
"Kind of over-the-top if you ask me," Rainbow said. "I mean, it's just a newspaper."
"I think it looks nice," Fluttershy said.
Rainbow shrugged. "Still just a newspaper."
The building's main entrance was a set of revolving doors standing beneath a large, gold-colored stained glass window bearing an image of the Daily Planet logo. The trio went through the doors one by one, emerging in a large round lobby, floored in decorative tiles and bathed in a warm golden light from the window. All around the walls were framed newspapers bearing significant headlines from over the course of the Planet’s history The center of the lobby was dominated by a large globe of Equus partially sunk into the floor, and directly in front of this was a semi-circular reception desk.
All around them were various ponies going about their business. The three wormed their way through the crowd to the desk, manned by a bespectacled secretary mare shuffling through various papers on the desk, so engrossed in her work that she didn’t glance up.
“Welcome to the Daily Planet,” she monotoned. “How may I help you?”
“We’d like to schedule a meeting with your Editor-in-Chief,” Rarity said. “Mister, uh, Whiteout, was it?”
“Mr. Whiteout’s got an open slot tomorrow afternoon at…” Then the secretary looked up at them and immediately froze, her eyes going wide and her jaw dropping a bit. “Sweet Celestia, it’s…it’s you…holy cow, the Elements of Harmony here?”
At the mention of “Elements of Harmony” a good chunk of the lobby’s current denizens stopped dead in their tracks, staring in awe at the visitors and whispering amongst themselves.
“Uh…yes?” Fluttershy said, a bit taken aback by the sudden recognition.
“Some of us, anyway,” Rainbow added before turning to the crowd. “Nothin’ to see here, folks. Just a couple of national heroes,” she said with a cocky little smirk.
“Yes, anyway,” Rarity continued. “That appointment for tomorrow?”
“Actually…” The secretary said, still staring. “…wait, how important is this?”
“Um…” Fluttershy began. “…it’s about Supermane. Does that count?”
A new wave of interest swept through the lobby, and the few who may not have been paying attention before were now suddenly looking their way at the mention of that name.
“I guess so, then.”
“Y’know,” the secretary said, still in obvious surprise. “I think I might actually be able to get you in now.” She reached over to an intercom button on her desk and clicked it on. “Mr. Whiteout, sir? There’s some ponies here to see you–“
”Then you can tell ‘em to schedule an appointment with me tomorrow,” a gruff male voice crackled from the little speaker. “And is Quicksnap back with the coffee yet?”
“Sir, it’s…it’s the Elements of Harmony.”
The voice on the other end paused.
”…wait. For real? What…what do they want?”
“They say they wanna talk about Supermane.”
”…well Great Caesar’s Ghost, don’t just sit there for Celestia’s sake, somepony bring them up!”
“I COME BEARING GIFTS!” exclaimed a new voice. The group looked to see a young male hippogriff, mostly orange with a messy tuft of bright red feathers on his head, coming through the entrance to the building, a camera bag slung around his neck and carrying a tray of coffee cups, talking more to himself than anyone in particular. “Alright, got the Chief’s coffee, Dawning’s latte, and…” He trailed off as his eyes came to rest on the Elements. “…holy…”
“Is that Quicksnap? Hey, kid! Make yourself useful and show our guests upstairs. And bring the coffee!”
“Got it Chief!” The hippogriff called to the intercom. “Right away, Chief!”
“And don’t call me ‘Chief’! The voice cut off with a click.
The hippogriff shrugged. “Eh, that’s the Chief for ya. He’s not really a bad guy though, really. Oh, uh…” He extended a hand to the trio. “My name’s–oh shoot!” The tray slipped out of his other talon and would have hit the floor had Rarity not caught it in her aura.
“I’ve got it, darling,” she assured him.
“Oh gee, thanks!” he said as he took the tray back. “Uh, my name’s Quicksnap.”
“Pleasure to meet you darling. I’m…”
“Oh, I already know who you all are,” Quicksnap said as he took he tray back “Pretty much everybody does by now.”
“Hey, newbie?” The secretary said. “Might wanna start bringing ‘em upstairs now.”
“Oh! Yeah, right. Uh, if you don’t mind following me?”
Quicksnap lead them over to a row of elevator doors at the far end of the lobby, stepping aside to let them enter the cozy little elevator first before stepping in himself and pushing a button for one of the upper floors, and the doors closed with a mechanical clanking.
“So Quicksnap,” Fluttershy asked as she eyed the camera bag hanging from his neck. “Are you a photographer?”
“Oh yeah. Well, photographer-in-training, technically. I’m really more of an intern right now, hence, the uh…” he nodded to the tray of coffee. “…the coffee duty. But yeah, I got into it after the Storm King’s defeat and all of us came out of hiding and, well…hoping it’ll take me places.”
“An admirable goal”, Rarity affirmed.
“Yeah. It’s been slow going though. What’d really be great is if I could get a picture of Supermane. Geez, if I could just get even one good shot of him…I’d probably be all set up here.” He shook his head. “But enough about me, what about you? I mean, not to pry or anything, but what’re the Element Bearers doing in Manehattan?”
“We’re actually looking for that super guy of yours,” Rainbow said.
Quicksnap blinked. “Really? Wow…I mean, I knew ponies were pushing for an actual investigation into this guy, but geez, talk about bringing in the big leaguers…” Then he frowned. “Wait, you’re not, like, looking to arrest him or anything, are you? Can you even do that?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” said Fluttershy. “We just want to know who he is and why he does what he does, that sort of thing.”
“So bringing him out into the limelight. Huh. Probably should stick around you guys if I can,” Quicksnap said as he adjusted the camera bag strap. “I might just get that picture yet.”
“Wait, can we arrest somepony?” Rainbow whispered to Rarity. “Like a citizen’s arrest or something? I didn’t know we could do that…”
“No, we can’t, Rainbow.” Rarity whispered back, to which Rainbow replied with a little huff of disappointment.
At that moment the elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.
“Welcome to the bullpen,” Quicksnap said, exiting the elevator first and stepping aside to allow the guests through. Beyond was a large expanse of a room, filled almost to packing with rows and rows of desks at which dozens of ponies, a broad mix of stallions and mares, sat tapping away on typewriters, shuffling through papers, or moving between the rows or talking amongst themselves, all bathed in the harsh fluorescent lighting from the ceiling above. At the far end was an area walled off by glass, sealed off from view by curtains on the other side. A door to the room labelled it as the Editor-in-Chief’s office. The trio followed Quicksnap through the bustling aisles, Fluttershy keeping herself firmly between Rainbow Dash and Rarity; the hustle and bustle felt a bit too claustrophobic for her liking.
“So this is where the magic happens,” Quicksnap told them as he led them along, pointing out various “landmarks” along the way. “You got all your basic departments here; Travel’s over there, that’s Business way down there, Society, Political…”
“Yo, newbie!” a blond-maned stallion called up from a nearby desk. “You got my frappé?”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it…” Quicksnap scanned the cups for a moment before selecting one and handing it over. “There you are, Goal Post.” With that down he continued to lead the group on. “That was Sports…break room’s off to the right, the Chief’s office is at the far end down there, and, uh…oh! There’s actually somebody I think might wanna meet you. He’s just over here…”
The little group wormed their way through the crowd until they came to a particular desk near the far left corner of the room, where a brownish-tan coated stallion with a black mane and tail, wearing a simple shirt and tie, sat working on a typewriter.
“Hey, Dawning!” Quicksnap called out to him.
The stallion looked up from his writing. Seen clearly the trio noticed that he was actually a fairly large stallion, not quite as large as the likes of Big Macintosh, but noticeably bigger than average and reasonably well-built. His eyes were a vivid, intense blue, and as she looked at them Rarity found herself likening them to sapphires. And yet despite his more impressive features, he had an air of what some might call “dorkiness” about him; his mane was ever-so-slightly disheveled, and he wore a pair of large glasses that gave him, in Rainbow Dash’s mind at least, a kind of “nerdy” look to him. A typewriter-shaped cutie mark adorned his flank.
The stallion smiled at Quicksnap as he came up. “Oh hey, Quicksnap,” he greeted. “How’d your run go?”
“Eh, it was alright,” Quicksnap replied as he picked a cup off the tray and gave it to the stallion. “I got your latte.”
“Oh, thanks. I needed this. And who’s…” The stallion trailed off, a look of surprise forming as he laid his eyes on the Element Bearers. “…oh…oh.”
“I know, right?” Quicksnap said with a smile. “That was pretty much everyone down in the lobby.” He turned to the trio. “This is Dawning Hope. Dawning, Elements, Elements, Dawning…”
“It’s, uh, a pleasure to meet you,” Dawning said with a slight stammer, extending a hoof out to the trio. They stared at it for a moment before he realized that it was the hoof still holding the coffee cup. “Oh. Oops!” Chuckling a little in embarrassment, he put the cup on his desk and reached out again. “Anyway, it’s…”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Fluttershy said, smiling as she took his hoof in hers and shook it.
“Well…wow,” Dawning nervously chuckled. “Shaking hooves with one of Equestria’s heroes…never thought I’d see that day.”
“Dawning and I started here around the same time,” Quicksnap explained. “Well okay, not really the same time, we had a couple months apart, but basically the same time. We’re kinda the newbie squad around these parts.”
“So you two kinda have each other’s back?” Rainbow asked.
“I mean, I like to think so,” Dawning said.
“Oh come on, we totally do. I get you a latte every time I go on a coffee run, don’t I? But anyway, enough about us. You’re not gonna believe who they’re after.”
“Try me.”
Quicksnap looked at the trio. “You wanna tell him or should I?”
“Oh, don’t let us impose, darling,” Rarity said. “You do you.”
Quicksnap turned back to Dawning. “They’re looking for Supermane.”
There was a minute stiffening in Dawning’s posture, the faintest widening of the eyes, a barely audible drawn-in breath. His glasses slid down his nose by about half an inch or so. “Oh…oh really?”
“Now now, no need to get excited,” Rainbow said with a little smirk. “Just a couple of national heroes looking for a…well, an urban legend hero, I guess.”
“Well, uh…” Dawning said, as he adjusted his glasses a bit with a hoof.. “…he’s not in trouble or anything like that?”
“Oh, not at all,” Rarity said. “We just want to know who he is, what his motives are…just to put some minds at ease, understand.”
“Yeah, I…I guess so. But wow…” He chuckled a little. “Talk about a big story, right?”
“I know, right?” Quicksnap affirmed. “Hey, look. I gotta get our guests of honor over to the Chief before he comes a-yelling, so, uh, ladies, if you’d be so kind as to follow me? Enjoy the latte, Dawning.”
Dawning blinked as though he’d just been lost in thought. “Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for bringing it.”
“No problem-o.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Dawning,” Rarity said.
“Yeah, this was…this was swell.” Dawning said with a little smile.
Rarity gave a light laugh and then turned to follow Quicksnap to the Chief’s office. Rainbow came up next to her.
“‘Swell’?” she whispered. “Who seriously still says ‘swell’?”
“Be kind, Rainbow…”
Fluttershy hung back for a while, looking and listening to the teaming mass of ponies and the sounds of their work. “Kind of noisy,” she said. “And cramped.”
Dawning shrugged. “Eh, you get used to it after a while. I did, anyway.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t know if I’d be comfortable working in a place like this…do you like it here?”
“Oh yeah, I like it fine.” Dawning replied. “It’s not really so bad when you get settled into the swing of things. And I like the job. Pay’s pretty good, too. Keeps up the rent, anyway.”
“Fluttershy, c’mon!” Rainbow’s voice called over the din.
“Oh, I’ve got to go,” Fluttershy said as she walked off to catch up. “It was nice meeting you,” she called back.
“Yeah, uh…nice meeting you too.” Dawning muttered as he watched her go.
Fluttershy caught up with the others just as they reached the Chief’s office, Quicksnap opening the door as they arrived. Beyond was a little office area, it’s walls flanked by bookshelves and cabinets. Directly across from the door, set in the opposing wall, were two windows that looked out onto the city streets and adjacent buildings beyond. The center of the office was dominated by a large desk stacked with papers, books, a typewriter, and assorted junk scattered over its surface. At the desk sat an older-looking earth pony stallion, slate-gray with mixed white and gray mane, a newspaper-shaped cutie mark, wearing a white shirt and a somewhat wrinkled red tie. He was sitting hunched over an intercom, speaking gruffly into it as they came in.
“…well you tell Lucky that if she doesn’t get her flank here ASAP then she’s gonna miss out on the biggest scoop since…” he trailed off abruptly when he saw the group come in through the door, his composure softening as he laid eyes on the Element bearers. “…yeah, just tell her to get up here.” He clicked off the intercom and straightened his tie before stepping around the desk to approach the visitors, putting on a smile as he did.
“Welcome to the Daily Planet. Name’s Whiteout; I’m Editor-in-Chief around here.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Rarity replied.
“Oh, please, the pleasure’s all mine.” Then he noticed Quicksnap standing in the doorway, still holding the coffee tray. “Yeah, what do you want?”
“Your coffee?”
“Oh yeah.” Quicksnap handed him one of the cups, and Whiteout scrutinized it. “And you remembered…”
“No sugar this time, I remembered, Chief.”
Whiteout shot him a glare. “A-hem?”
“I-I mean, Mr. Whiteout, sir…”
“Good boy. Now don’t just stand there loitering, give everyone else their drinks already!”
“Got it,” Quicksnap stammered as he backed out of the door. “Right away, Chief.”
“And don’t call me ‘Chief’!”
Quicksnap winced as he left, shutting the door behind him. When he’d gone Whiteout rolled his eyes. “Nice boy, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. Anyway, please, have a seat.” He gestured to a small row of chairs on one side of the room. The three mares sat down and got themselves comfortable while Whiteout resumed his seat at his desk, pulling it out slightly to better face them.
“So,” he began. “You’re really here looking for Supermane?”
“Indeed we are,” Rarity said. “Princess Twilight personally asked us to look into the matter.”
“And we figured that since you seem to cover him the most,” Fluttershy said. “You might be able to give us some tips that’ll help us find him.”
Whiteout chuckled. “Well, we really just print the stories, I just check ‘em for spelling and all that. If you want somepony who really knows Supermane, then you’re gonna need to talk to–“
At that moment the door swung open, and a young earth pony mare stepped in. She had a lavender coat and a black tail and mane, the latter of which was tied back into a ponytail, and her cutie mark was that of a notebook and pen. She didn’t even notice the trio as she came through the door and marched right up to Whiteout’s desk.
“Alright, Chief,” she said, clearly irritated. “I don’t know why you had to pull me away from a this-close-to-being-scheduled interview with city council about Tech Lexicon’s big surprise tomorrow, but it had better be important…”
Completely unfazed, Whiteout merely responded with a nod to the three Bearers. “I dunno, does that look important to you?”
The new mare turned her head and finally saw the three sitting there off in the corner. Fluttershy gave her a little wave.
The mare’s eyes went wide and she numbly raised a hoof to point at them. “Hooooooly…”
“Yeah, it’s us. We’ve been getting that a lot today,” Rainbow said.
Whiteout rose and stood beside the mare. “Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to Lucky Lead. She’s the best, bravest, boldest…”
“Oh, stop it,” Lucky said, although from the little smirk on her face it was clear that she was enjoying the praise.
“…the most impulsive, confrontational, and reckless reporter we have on staff.”
Just like that Lucky’s smirk evaporated, replaced with a half-hearted frown. “Gee, you really know how to kill a compliment, you know that?”
“I have an obligation to honesty.” He returned his attention to the three. “And she’s our resident Supermane expert.”
Lucky blinked. “Wait. Supermane? You three are looking for Supermane?”
“Mr. Whiteout was just telling us that you know a lot about him,” Fluttershy said. “And we read your article about the mugging he stopped the other night. So we were thinking that maybe you could share with us a little bit of what you know?
Lucky beamed. “Are you kidding? I don’t mean to brag–okay, kind of–but when it comes to Supermane, then yeah, I’m your mare.” Her smile faded a bit. “And okay, admittedly that isn’t a lot, but still…”
“So you actually think he exists?” Rainbow said.
Lucky visibly stiffened, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath.
“Ah, boy, here we go…” Whiteout said as he turned the other way in his chair.
“What?” Rainbow said. “It’s a perfectly valid que–“
“Miss Dash,” Lucky said, opening her eyes and giving Rainbow a gritted smile. “I have been chasing this guy since the first rumors of a super-powered earth pony in a hood and cape started drifting through the city streets. And for the past six months–six months, mind you–I’ve been picking up every little story about him I can get; every little whisper, every eyewitness sighting, every testimony from perps he’s left behind who were willing to squeal…”
“Okay, but–“
“And I've been getting flak from just about every other news outlet in this city for it. I've had ponies calling me crazy, calling me a wannabe tabloid writer, calling my boss crazy for keeping me around..."
"Your defense of my honor is much appreciated," Whiteout muttered.
"...but you know what?" Lucky continued. "I plow through it all and do my darnedest to not let it put me down. Because I know I'm right. I know it's all true. I wouldn't be pursuing this story if I didn't think it was. I hold the truth in pretty high regard. So when I say to you, 'yes, there is a Supermane'..." She stood straight up and looked Rainbow right in the eyes. "...I'm gonna stand by that to my dying breath."
Rainbow just stared back at her. “…aaaaalright then. Look, I’ll try to keep an ‘open mind’ or whatever about this guy, but if I actually saw him for myself, I’d have a much better time believing you.”
“And seeing him is precisely what we hope to accomplish,” Rarity said. “Assuming, of course, that you’d be willing to help us in our investigation, Miss Lead…”
Lucky blinked. “You three…want me…to help you find Supermane?”
“That’s the general gist of it, yes.”
Lucky smiled from ear to ear. “Rarity–I can just call you Rarity, right?–anyway, as long as I’m the gal who gets the byline, I have no objections whatsoever to a partnership.”
“Well,” Fluttershy said. “It sounds like we have a deal.”
“Great!” Lucky said, clapping her hooves. “So how about this; you all come by the Planet tomorrow and–“
“Uh, Lucky?” Whiteout said, raising an eyebrow. “Tomorrow? You do remember what you and Dawning are covering tomorrow, right?”
Lucky rolled her eyes. “Oh. Right. Another one of Lex’s big ego displays. Shoot…” She paused for a moment. “Hey, wait. You’re not staying at the Manefair hotel by any chance, are you?”
“Yes we are,” Rarity answered. “Why?”
Lucky put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Yeah…yeah, I can see how this could work…okay, tell you what. The new monorail system has a station a few blocks away from the hotel. So Dawning and I could meet you there, we go to the event together, and on the way up and back we talk turkey about Supermane. Sound good?”
“Uh…’talk turkey’?” Fluttershy asked.
“It’s slang,” Rainbow told her.
Rarity mulled over Lucky’s proposal. “Hmm…I don’t see why not. Girls?”
Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded.
“Don’t see why not.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Lucky turned to Whiteout. “And what say you?”
Whiteout shrugged. “Nothin’ wrong with it from my view; it’s their investigation, their choice.”
“Alright, then!” Lucky smiled. “Sounds like we’ve got a plan.”
Rarity stood up from her seat, her companions following her. “Well then, seeing’s how we seem to have an arrangement of sorts, I don’t think we’ll take up anymore of your time. It was a pleasure meeting you all.”
“Oh, please,” Whiteout said. “The pleasure is all ours. Lucky, would you mind showing them out?”
“Not at all,” Lucky said, opening the door back into the crowded din of the newsroom. She waited for the others to exit before closing the door to the chief’s office and leading them through the sea of desks.
“I’m telling you,” Lucky told them as they walked. “I feel really good about this whole thing. I think this is gonna be the beginning of something great.”
“Well,” Rainbow said. “Supermane or no, I hope we get something out of this whole thing at least.”
As they passed by Dawning Hope’s desk, Fluttershy gave him a little wave. “Goodbye, Dawning,” she chirped.
Dawning looked up, smiled back and gave her a little wave. “Bye.”
As Fluttershy turned away, Dawning watched as Lucky lead them to the door of the newsroom and waved them goodbye as the door closed behind them. He watched them through those big glasses of his, right through the wall as they re-entered the cozy little elevator. He saw Rainbow shaking her head, and over the noise of his fellow reporters heard her mutter something that sounded a lot like “fangirl”, to which Rarity gave her a frown-faced admonishment of some kind. He watched as the elevator began to descend, going down, down, all the way down to the lobby far below, where they passed through the lobby crowd and exited the building into the streets beyond.
Only after they’d gone did Dawning stop looking through the floor.
“The carpet’s pretty good on this side of the floor, isn’t it?”
Dawning jolted in his seat and looked up to see Lucky Lead standing next to his desk, giving him a teasing little smile. He blushed, adjusting his glasses and stammering. “Well, uh…”
Lucky just chuckled. “Oh, come on Smallville, I’m just messing with you. I know you have those little moments of introspection or whatever. You’re gonna have to tell me what goes on inside that head of yours someday.”
Dawning shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, someday, I guess.”
“And someday I’m gonna teach you how to talk about as much as you write. Speaking of which, I’m probably distracting you, so I’ll let you get back to your, uh…” She leaned in to view the article he was writing “…your corporate ego-stroking, so…to work!” She mimed a whip-cracking motion with her hoof before shooting Dawning a little wink and leaving.
Dawning kept up a small smile until she had gone, before letting it slip away and turning back to his desk with a sigh.
The Element Bearers–three of them, anyway–were in Manehattan. They were looking for Supermane. And they were teaming up with the Daily Planet to do it.
This…was going to complicate things.
A lot.
But Lucky was right. He had work to do. He’d worry about it all later.
So after taking a deep breath, he shoved his worries to the back of his mind and resumed typing on the article he was working on.
LEXPO EVENT TO BE HELD AT LEXCORP PLAZA TOMORROW
BILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR TEASES TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN DEFENSE, POWER, AGRICULTURE, OTHERS.
It was already well after dusk by the time Dawning returned to the tenement building that he called “home” in the city’s Hooflyn district. It wasn’t a particularly big or fancy building, but neither was it small or run-down or anything like that. Just a nice, cozy little apartment building.
And the rent was good too.
Adjusting his saddlebags a bit, Dawning stepped through the door into the building’s small lobby. Affordable Rent, an older bespectacled mare with a graying mane and coat who served as the building’s landlady, was sitting behind a little desk reading a magazine, and she looked up from it as Dawning entered.
“Oh, hello, Dawning,” she said to him. “You were out for a while today; I was almost beginning to worry.”
Dawning gave her a smile. “Eh, just a bit of a long day, then went out to eat. No big deal,” he said as he made his way to the stairway to the upper floors.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re doing fine.” As Dawning began to head upstairs she called out to him again. “Oh, by the way, I think there was some mail for you. From your hometown, I think.”
Oh boy… Dawning thought to himself. Outwardly he just thanked her, then ascended the flight of stairs until he got to his apartment on the third floor, opening the door and stepping inside before closing it behind him.
Like the building itself, it was a fairly modest apartment, bordering on outright spartan in content; a simple living room with a window, a kitchenette, bathroom, a couple closets, and bedroom. Aside from the bare necessities, there wasn’t any particularly fancy furniture or decorations to be found. To most it would appear to be almost barren, but it suited Dawning just fine in his opinion.
Sure enough, there was a small pile of letters on the floor just in front of the door. After setting his saddlebags aside, Dawning picked them up and sat down on one of the chairs in the living room to flip through them. Most of them were junk or ads–one of them for tomorrow’s Lexpo event–but it was the last one that gave him pause. It was a simple envelope with a return address marked “Smallville”, with just two names written on it in pen:
Dawning Hope
Amber Grain
Amber Grain. His mother. Instinctually knowing what was going to be inside, Dawning tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter contained within.
Dear Dawning,
Sorry it took so long to write to you again. It took a little while to find your new address after you moved out of Baltimare. Been reading about you in the papers. Hoping you’re doing well. And I do hope your getting close to finding you-know-what.
Woven Light and Flax say hi.
Cornstalk says hello too.
We love you, son.
-Amber Grain
Dawning sighed as he finished reading. On the one hoof, it was nice to get these letters from his mother; they were his one remaining connection to his old hometown. But on the other, they almost always ended up bringing up some uncomfortable memories.
Especially whenever his father was mentioned. It was almost always written the same way; “Cornstalk says hello”. Dawning couldn’t remember him actually writing him a letter himself.
Every time Dawning would get a letter, he always thought about what to say back to him. What he knew he probably should say to him. But no matter what he thought of it always ended up being some variation of “tell Cornstalk I said ‘hi’ too” or something like that.
Right now, though, he didn’t feel like immediately starting a response. He’d save that for sometime tomorrow. He put the letter back in the envelope and, rising out of the chair, put them on a table in the middle of the room before looking out the single window that opened up to the rest of the city. The last of the sun’s light was disappearing over the horizon, giving way to the star-studded darkness of the night.
For a moment he considered not going out on his usual patrol tonight and just turning in for the evening. Between the day’s usual stresses and the sudden bombshell that had been dropped on him today, he felt like he needed a good long sleep. And if the Elements were going to be out looking for him–even if they weren’t necessarily starting tonight–the smart thing to do might have been to lay low for a while.
But before he got too far down that line of thinking, that one nagging thought reared its head within the depths of his mind:
What if something happens and I’m not there for it?
Dawning shook his head. He knew better than to even try to argue with himself on that thought. He’d just wind up kicking himself for it for a good while afterwards. And Celestia forbid if something did happen that he could have stopped…
Realizing that he’d pretty much made up his mind, Dawning went into his bedroom. He took a few tissues from a box on his bedside table, and with them took a couple minutes to scrub the painted-on typewriter cutie mark from both of his flanks, revealing plain, un-marked tan fur beneath. After that he opened up a drawer by his bed and pulled out a pair of keys in his mouth, before crossing to the other side and opening up the closet. Resting on the floor was a large, locked chest. Dawning slipped one of the keys into the lock and opened it. Inside the chest was a large mahogany cloak with a hood, and a navy blue shirt. On the shirt, crudely painted in a vivid red, was a diamond outline filled by a curling S-like shape.
The exact clothing ensemble that ponies had come to associate with the name “Supermane”.
Removing the clothing from the chest, he slipped the shirt on first, and then the cloak over it, letting it drape down to his hooves. At the bottom of the chest was a small box, locked as well. Dawning reached inside, unlocked it with the second key, and opened it up.
Inside the box, resting on a crude bed of foam packing material, was a small crystal. It almost resembled a tiny icicle in appearance, tapering to a point at one end, light whitish-blue in color, with faint lines running through it deep within. At the back it widened out into a flattened, diamond-shaped end, with the same curling symbol that Dawning had marked his shirt with. As a matter of fact, it was the very thing that Dawning had based his own symbol off of.
Everypony assumed it was an ’S’ of some kind–S for Supermane–but Dawning knew better. Or at least a little better. It wasn’t an S. Just had an uncanny resemblance to one. Whatever it actually was, whatever it actually meant, he had no idea.
Another truth he hoped to discover.
There was a thin little cord that Dawning had tied to the flattened end a long time ago, and with this he hung the crystal around his neck, tucking it out of sight beneath the collar of his shirt. He sometimes worried about bringing the crystal along with him on his nightly runs; it could get lost somehow. But if somepony traced Supermane back to him and raided his apartment, he could at least keep the crystal. And as long as he had that, he still had a lead on his personal quest.
Now properly garbed, Dawning went back into the living room and looked out the window, making sure that there was nopony on the street below or in adjacent buildings who would see him. Satisfied, he pulled the hood over his head, opened the window and stepped outside. Once out he quickly shut the window and leapt, feeling the night air brush in his face, hearing the wind whoosh in his ears, watching the streets pass by beneath him. He landed on all four hooves on a roof two buildings down with a thud, an impact that would have done serious damage to most other ponies. But not to him. He could take a landing like that, and a whole lot more, although he’d yet to discover exactly how much.
He stopped to look and listen for anybody who might’ve seen him, any frantic whispers or cries of a flying pony. There were none. Clean exit. Satisfied with that, Dawning crouched and leapt again, making another landing about ten blocks down, and repeated the cycle, passing over streets, buildings, whole blocks in singular bounds. He could have easily flown–he knew he could–but that would put him at risk of being seen against the night sky. He felt less at risk merely jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
His cycle of leaping eventually brought him across the city to the Crystaller Building, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, if not the tallest, recognizable by the gigantic bronze horse head that topped it. With an extra kick, Dawning catapulted himself upward, coming to land on top of the horse head itself, where he sat down just in front of its left ear and leaned against the cool metal of its raised mane.
He liked sitting up here at night. Partially for the view. All of Manehattan was stretched out before him, its many buildings and streets lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree in a beautiful canvas of lights. He’d sometimes sit up here for almost an hour, just taking it all in.
And partly it was for what he supposed could be called “tactical” reasons. It was the perfect vantage point for him to see or hear trouble should it arise.
From what Dawning understood, most ponies were under the impression that Supermane had some sort of precognitive abilities, like Pinkie Pie’s famed “Pinkie Sense” or whatever it was called. And while it was an interesting idea–and the further the were from the truth about him the better, as far as he was concerned–it was wholly inaccurate.
What Dawning did have was much more powerful senses of sight and hearing than any other pony, and likely any other creature, on the planet. He could hear almost anything he wanted up to several miles away if he pushed himself to do so. Sometimes it was hard to sort through all the different sounds–even harder when he sometimes came across something he knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop on–and when it had first developed it had been one of the hardest things for him to control, but once he’d mastered it, it had served him well.
Even more incredible was his vision. For one thing, he could see through solid objects, as he had when he watched the Element Bearers leave the Planet earlier that day. He wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, but although he supposed it could technically be called “x-ray vision”, he’d long since disproved his fears that he was lethally irradiating everything he looked at with x-ray radiation. About the only drawback it had was that for some reason he couldn’t see through lead, and he’d never quite been able to figure out why.
And aside from this “x-ray vision”, he could see into other spectrums of light as well; infrared, ultraviolet, gamma. Sometimes he could see radio waves. And if he pushed his vision really hard, he could even see magic itself; the internal reservoirs of magical creatures, ley lines running through the planet, all of that sort of thing.
As a colt he’d sometimes spend hours looking at the world with his wide array of vision. Everything looked so strange and colorful and downright beautiful at times. The world would become full of lights in his eyes, like the way the lighted cityscape of Manehattan lay before him now. It was especially beautiful with living beings. Their lights churned and grew and pulsed, and when they moved they looked like fireflies in the night. And the sounds…the beating of their hearts, the churning of blood in their veins, the winds of their breath…all of it coalescing into a simultaneous light show and orchestra of pure life.
And it made it all the harder to watch when something went wrong. When living beings were hurt or ill, their lights dimmed and flickered, the sounds of their life went erratic.
And when they died…Dawning had seen that one too many times in his life.
Dawning didn’t look at things the same way he did as a colt too much anymore. Nowadays he kept things more focused when he looked like that. But he could never forget what it looked like when the lights went dark or even dimmed.
He couldn’t turn away from that. Not when he knew he could do something. When he should do something. And he followed that so often that it was almost instinctual by this point in his life.
Some would probably call that instinct noble or heroic. He knew Lucky Lead certainly would. And truth be told, there were times when he did enjoy doing it; when he took comfort knowing that somepony’s life would continue normally, that their light wouldn’t go out that night.
But that instinct of his was causing him problems, and more than he cared for as time went on.
Everyone seemed to regard him as a big hero of some sort. Lucky Lead definitely hyped him up as one; an enigmatic savior, a comic-book superhero come to life. But Dawning certainly didn’t think of himself as one. Yes, he helped ponies, snatched them from disaster, fought against criminals when they arose, and put on a smile to make those he helped feel more at ease and safe. But he was no superhero. The ’S’ that they believed stood for him was nothing of the sort. “Supermane” was just a name given to him by ponies who didn’t know–and under no circumstances could know–the whole truth.
Heroes didn’t have hidden personal goals like he did.
He had to stay hidden as much as he could. No matter what happened, if wanted any chance of finding what he sought, he had to stay hidden, and he’d been mostly successful for the past two years since leaving home. Of course, minor exposure was inevitable for a being like him; a very few ponies he’d met along the way had figured his big secret out. To their credit, they’d opted to remain silent, and he was grateful to them for that. Manehattan already regarded him as an urban myth, and he was more than happy to remain that way. They could keep their mysterious Supermane as long as they didn’t know anything beyond that, as long as nopony caught him, as long as nopony could get a good look at his face.
But obviously he’d gotten careless somewhere along the way. The Princess had noticed him now and she’d sent some of her personal crew to find him. Maybe he could evade them, but they weren’t considered national heroes for nothing. And he had no idea how long they planned on staying.
But he needed to stay under the radar, now more than ever. Because if they did find him–and more importantly, find out what he was–then he couldn’t even imagine what would happen to him after that.
At least they hadn’t suspected anything when Quicksnap had introduced them. He’d worried that they might have noticed something odd about his glasses, but luckily the enchantment on them had held up–he made a mental note to thank Woven Light for them again in his next letter to home–and they hadn’t suspected a thing. So for now, at least, he was in the clear from them.
But they weren’t the only ones he was worried about.
As he looked out on the cityscape, he turned his gaze out to the most seaward end of the island the city rested on. At the far end, jutting out into the water, was the area known as the LexCorp plaza; a large complex of buildings, overshadowed by the towering skyscraper that was LexCorp’s headquarters.
He already knew that he and Lucky were supposed to cover the Lexpo tomorrow. Quicksnap might be coming along as well. Either way, they were being sent right into the heart of LexCorp to cover the story, and it gave Dawning an opportunity that he’d been waiting for for a long time.
It was in there. He was sure of it. After two years of roaming Equestria, he was certain that they had it in there, and tomorrow he planned to give the place a good look if he can.
Dawning just hoped that he wasn’t on to him too.
But all that would come tomorrow. One day at a time.
For now he’d sit out here for the night, maintaining his silent, reluctant vigil over the city of Manehattan.
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Okay, yeah, I can tell this chapter was written with a lot of love and respect for the mythos. Like, uh, it feels like I'm reading a Superman story, which points for that.
“And don’t call me ‘Chief’!”
I don't quite know why, but that was what sold me. THAT is Perry White, right there. Like, the interactions feel... natural, it's like I am watching the show but with Superman in the same universe. I don't know how else to explain it.
...and if you're worried about Dawning's characterization still, he feels like an Early Day Superman, not sure of his place in the world and where he... fits I guess? He feels like a young adult, still fresh out of college and not sure where to go from here I'd best describe it.
Another chapter, another reason to remind me why I love Superman. Everything feels like it fits in this world. Nothing feels ham-fisted or shoved in. It feels natural, like just another story arc the Mane Six could have, but this time it's eerily similar to a Superman comic. And like Mr. Brick pointed out, it simultaneously feels like Superman, but with MLP in it, while still retaining an independent identity.
Loved this chapter. Please continue at your leisure.
10664556
I'll copy the comment so you can have it again.
Excellent job on this latest chapter. Certainly quite well worth the wait. Absolutely love the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Greatly enjoyed Twi explaining the situation to her friends (and even providing a good reason for dismissing the "Mare-Do-Well-style stunt" theory). Particularly liked Twi's mentioning that how good a job she has been doing in keeping her panic attacks under control. And, yeah, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity introducing themselves to the Planet staff was great stuff (particularly the use of a hippogriff as the Jimmy Olsen analogue and the reactions of the staff to the Lois analogue getting started on Supermane again). "Dawning Hope" IS an extremely appropriate name for the Clark Kent persona and I loved his reflections on his family back in Fillydephia and the greater detail on his powers. And, yeah, definitely looking forward to meeting the Luthor analogue.
Very certainly eagerly awaiting more, but will also respect real world concerns coming first.
Gotta say this has me hooked so far. I even noticed we shared some similar ideas for our stories. A fake cutie mark. the special glasses. being secretive. Although the ponified names are still gonna take getting used to for me since I just assumed their was enough human sounding names in the show to justify an outlier to remain the same.
Thank you both.
10664603
Gotta say, I'm enjoying reading your chapter breakdowns. Glad to see somebody really pouring over this stuff. :)
10664610
Oh really? Huh. Small world, I guess.
10664655
Indeed. I'd love to discuss it more with you sometime in case there are any other ideas we might share. Assuming it's alright if I PM you?
10664593
Disregard what I said, I'm leaving the chapter up.
10664847
I don't mind.
Alright. So I'm loving the character building here. You've created a nice solid foundation for believeable characters and introducing them properly.
You've also made the characters believeable. You've given Supermane a purpose that gives him a bit of a linear path and not just to be a hero. You've made it believeable.
I'm hooked bud. Full tilt. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what comes next and how the players pan out on the other side of the coin.
I'm quite enjoying this. I wonder if you'll mention a Batmare/Batmane in the future.
Me after reading the chapter title: 🎵I dare you to move/I dare you to move/I dare you to lift/Yourself up off by the floor//I dare you to move/I dare you to move🎶
Okay, now that that music break is over, I'm liking this story so far. Also, don't worry about how you're writing Twilight. She's pretty in-character so far. She doesn't have to be panicking every few minutes to be herself.
So, whatever his hidden personal agenda is, I'm guessing that 'Supermane' doesn't want the Element Bearers involved, which is a shame because I'm sure that not only will the three of them be extremely understanding but that they'd also be more than willing to help him.
I apologize for taking so long to get around to reading this.
But this was really solid stuff! I think you've done a very good job of bringing together the Superman mythos and the MLP setting, this feels quite natural to both sets of characters and that is always a tricky balance to pull off when bringing together some of these different casts. Props to you, I say!
10634102
One of the best Superman stories, that. :)
This has a very classic feel to it, I approve.
Sorry it took so long to get around to reading this, the chapter length kinda scared me a little.
Really good merger between MLP and the world of Superman, especially with the counterparts of Perry and Lois. I wonder if the counterpart of Lex is gonna be a major player in this.
And really Rainbow Dash, you're the last pony in the world who has any right to accuse anyone of being a showoff.
I'm really interested to see how will these two worlds coincide in your story. Keep up the good work! 😊
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It's alright. Sorry about the chapter length; I just kinda wrote what I wanted to put into this chapter. Gonna try and keep the next chapters as below 10k as possible if I can help it.
And how. But that'll start next chapter.
Thanks for reading/commenting. After the scare I had with the upload dates, it's nice to know people are still along for the ride.
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No problem. Very definitely looking forward to more of this. I've been thinking about doing something similar under the title, "The Justice League of Equestria" that would feature various ponies from the show in the roles of multiple DC heroes and villains, but I still have my Injustice stories to finish.
Oh, I hope that you at least have Rainbow be the analogy to the Flash--that should give Dawn something to worry about early in his career.
For some reason this never showed up in my notifications. Oh well, I'm reading it now and I'm enjoying it.
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Oh yeah, there was a screw-up with the story update notifications. For some reason it listed both this and the proceeding chapter as having been published last year.
Luckily it seems a recent site update fixed that, so if this is any indication, chapter updates should be shown normally from now on. And boy am I glad for that. :D
I have you to thank for giving me perspective as to writing long chapters. Pot has met the kettle XD
I don't really mind the length though. I would say in the future keep mind of this if you're worried about it, and try and either decide if you need to split the chapter into two parts or if you need to put a bit of a action or plot bump amongst a lot of dialogue. Just saying if you're concerned about pacing this is something I've come to understand overtime. This is early on in the story so I don't at all judge, but if I had to get any critique in a remotely negative context it is I would say some of the dialogue at the newspaper office went around in circles a little. It did do its job pretty well of establishing the core characters at that setting and having them introduce themselves in one way or another to the bearers, but I would imagine it also could have been possible to introduce them one at a time over several chapters.
Positive though, as there are quite many. Characterization for all of the "OCs" is pretty good so far. I like that you gave them clear as day indicators as to who they are, without trying to finagle an exact name translation from the original comic source. They are also very well described and easy to visualize, once again proving my sentiments that original MLP characters need to have simple designs to avoid clashing with the canonical cast as well as being easier to visualize in a written format.
Definitely is fun to see the bearers get some good respect after everything they've been through. Never ceases to get a smile out of me when I see stories remember all they've done and that they certainly wouldn't be low profile at this point especially. Don't worry about your writing for the princess of friendship, I think you did just fine and I certainly didn't see anything that seemed to be out of character. She didn't send her friends over to slap cuffs on someone, she just wanted them to check out an odd situation. That's something that happened quite often in the series and is hardly unique here.
The Mane 6 are also not at all subject to that oh so heinous practice of crossover fiction, negative shilling. It is something that sadly very common in MLP crossovers involving characters from another franchise appearing, to have the pony cast to be relatively helpless sheep who admire and are in awe of the abilities of their new compatriots without getting any sort of attention themselves.
Clark, or rather Dawning is himself and endearing character as always. I would say excessive noting on how his powers work maybe could have been done in a show don't tell fashion, such as displaying them one by one and having the characters figure it out much like how the audience could figure it out from the prologue, but there isn't anything egregious for sure. I actually really like that you paid attention to note that the x-ray vision is not technically x-ray vision as he certainly isn't hurting anybody by irradiating their insides!
I am actually quite intrigued by how you took the time to notice and remark that he can see magical ley lines and auras, and this also helped color his perception of life and death with the latter being something he never wants to see again. It's a unique and very profound application of superpowers which I very rarely see in fiction. Often I think we get wrapped up in what a power can do in a crime fighting since that we forget to ask how it would actually affect someone in their day-to-day life and viewpoint. Pretty much the only times I've seen powers apply to viewpoint is the oh so tired "beware the Superman" cliche.
Overall off to a good start because if a little bit exposition heavy but definitely very strong on characterization. Definitely looking forward to more and interested to see the answers to some questions.
Exact nature of the crystal?
What kind of Superman continuity and mythos might we tap into the most?
Was there ever a time that our big blue boy scout was tempted to intervene during any of the MLP villain crisis?
What kept him exactly?
Are we going to find out if his dry cleaners also figure out that he is Superman's?
Stay tuned!
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The length of this chapter was...kind of an accident, actually. Going forward I've been trying to keep most of the "normal" chapters below 10k while letting the more intense and important ones dip into higher than that.
Yeah, wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Besides, it's not like Supermane is really anything special in the world of Equestria as far as being a superpowered being goes. His real uniqueness comes from why he's that way and the fact that he's more proactive with his abilities than most. Ponies like Twilight or Celestia or Starswirl are powerful, probably more so than him, but they aren't really superhero-levels of using them publicly on a day-to-day basis.
You can thank Superman: Birthright for that idea. I loved how the comic used Clark's sensory abilities to describe an extra incentive for his hero work and that was something I wanted to incorporate in my take. I think it really helps flesh out Clark's desire to help the world around him.
Also the comic is great, easily my favorite Superman origin story.
I tend to be more of a fan of post-Crisis Superman–the 80's to pre-New 52 takes in particular–so going forward that's probably what I'm drawing from the most, although I am pulling inspiration from other versions and adaptations here and there.
Thank you so much for the feedback! Hope to see you around in the chapters to come. :)
sight*?
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Ah, good catch, thanks.
Oooh... now things have certainly gotten quite... interesting. At the very least, having only 3 out of 6 of the Mane Six shouldn't be too bad, he can handle them... or maybe not, I dunno how this is gonna go
In all seriousness, this is solid work. Good characterization, love the introduction to Daily Planet and many various figures there. I only recognize Dawning and Lucky Lead here (this coming from someone who has bare bones knowledge of Superman after all) but this is still solid. Can't wait to see more.
The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force... for good.
- Jor-El (Man of Steel & Zack Snyder's Justice League)
Greetings, your reading has been completed and can be found below. I hope you enjoy.
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Thank you kindly! Additionally, I went and made a blog post promoting it just to make sure people see it.