//------------------------------//
// The Mane-Raising Joke: Part 3 
// Story: The Alternate Adventures of the Power Ponies 
// by DisneyFanatic23 
//------------------------------//

"It helps us being the underdog. We have nothing to lose. Nobody expects us to win except ourselves."

- Daniel Ruffin



Rarity yelped as she was thrown onto a cold stone floor. When she looked up, several stallions were standing over her, chuckling. She recognized four of them as Dee's assistants.

"So nice of you to drop in, Miss Rarity," Blowdry said.

He jumped back when one of the Mane-iac's locks snapped at him. "I make the punchlines here!"

Looking around, Rarity found herself in some sort of warehouse. Boxes with Tangler's logo on them were stacked high. She gasped as the Mane-iac's hair grabbed hold of her again. Instead of wrapping her up, however, the mane lock helped her to her hooves.

"See what I have to put up with?" the Mane-iac said, gesturing to her minions. "All stallions with brains the size of peas," she snapped her mane at them, "and no manners! But," her voice suddenly became sweet, "they are loyal to me and so love taking risks."

"Plus we get paid overtime now!" a stallion said.

"Exactly! With our new line of work, our income will double!" She spread out her hooves. "Which means Hearth's Warming bonuses for every pony!"

The crowd of stallions cheered.

"But," the villain said, repositioning herself on her hair so that she was at Rarity's eyelevel, "as you well know, employee uniforms let the public know that our business is…professional." She slid a lock under Rarity's chin and forced her to look at the stallions. "We need a look that shows their unity as a mob, but also lets ponies know that they work for me." She directed Rarity's gaze toward her four assistants. "The Stylists…"

"That's what she calls the four of us!" Blowdry exclaimed.

The Mane-iac glared at him, making him cross his legs in embarrassment. "As incompetent as they are, my Stylists don't require such uniforms, as they already have a sense of…well, style." She turned Rarity's head to face her. "Think you're up for the job, Rarity dear?"

"Well, I um…" Rarity said, wriggling out of her hold. "You see I'd love to help, but…see, I don't have my equipment with me! I mean I need a sewing machine, some fabric, not to mention needle and thread…"

The Mane-iac stepped aside and pointed to a sewing table, complete with machine and spools of thread. Several colored swatches of fabric were leaning against the wall behind it.

"Oh, would you look at that," Rarity said, chuckling awkwardly.

"If you need anything else," the Mane-iac said, dropping a sketchpad and pencil into Rarity's hooves, "don't hesitate to ask."

Biting her lip, Rarity set the sketchpad down. "Look, Dee…"

The villain pushed herself forward into her face and shouted, "Mane-iac!"

"Whatever!" the unicorn squeaked before clearing her throat. "Dee, I know you've just been through a traumatic experience and…you're probably very confused, but I know the real you is still in there somehow. I'm saying this as a friend, darling, but I think you've really," she twirled her hoof in the air, "what's the phrase? Flipped your wig?"

The Mane-iac stiffened. Scissors was snickering.

"Wig! I get it!"

His mockery ceased when his boss struck his backside with her mane.

"Perhaps," the Mane-iac said, slowly rising above Rarity, "I didn't make myself clear back at your apartment. You," she pointed to Rarity with a mane lock, "help me, and I," another lock pointed to herself, "won't hurt your friend."

"Coco's not here right now!" Rarity said, crossing her hooves defiantly. "You have no leverage against me!"

"Oh, really?" She smirked as one of her locks came out from behind her, carrying a metal box with a big red button. "See this? While we were talking in your apartment, I planted a little something on your friend. I don't want to go into detail, but let's just say it will…blow your mind! Or should I say…Coco's mind?"

The unicorn stepped back. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes!" Her red and green eyes rolled in opposite directions. "All I have to do," she said, raising a second mane lock above the button, "is push this little red button and," she thrust herself forward, "BOOM! It's curtains for Coco!"

Rarity scowled. "You're insane!"

The Mane-iac stared at her blankly. "What's your point? So," she said, wagging the remote teasingly, "still think you're not up for the job? Or am I going to have to split a few hairs to get you to cooperate?"

Rarity glanced at the remote, then at the Mane-iac. She was grinning with excitement, her eyes holding a wild look that Rarity had never seen before in Dee. She could hardly believe that this was the friend who had bought her those bracelets for no reason at all, who had saved her job at Polomare Fashions, who had invited her to the Charity Ball. The most generous pony she had ever known had become a psychopath.

Yet, Rarity still had the feeling that her dear friend was still in there. She just had to bring her out again. Glancing back at the remote and then at the henchponies who were pounding their hooves together, she realized that until Dee returned to her senses, Rarity was going to have to play along. Sighing, she lit up her horn. The Mane-iac had her lock over the button, but stopped when she saw that the unicorn was only picking up the sketchpad.

"I'm going to need some velvet," Rarity said unenthusiastically. "Boysenberry. And some white linen."

The Mane-iac chuckled, using her mane to push Rarity towards the sewing table. "Nice to see that your work ethic has returned." She turned to her minions. "I have some errands to run. Blowdry, keep an eye on our guest."

"With pleasure," Blowdry said, sending Rarity a sultry look.

He quickly readjusted his collar, spat on his hoof and straightened out his mane. The Mane-iac narrowed her eyes at him, unimpressed.

"On second thought," she said turning to the next Stylist, "Comb, you keep an eye on her."

"Aw," Blowdry whined, hanging his head.

"If she tries anything," the Mane-iac said, dropping the remote in Comb's hoof, "you know what to do."

Comb saluted. "You've got it, Boss."

"Shampoo, make sure Miss Belle has every pony's measurements. As for the rest of you," she said, rising above the group, "I'd just like to point out that Miss Belle here is our guest, and must be treated with the utmost care and respect. Which means," she thrust herself towards them, bellowing, "KEEP YOUR HOOVES TO YOURSELVES!" She snapped her mane at Blowdry. "ESPECIALLY YOU!"

The stallions all nodded in agreement. "Yes, Boss!"

She smiled and pulled away. "Ciao, my darlings! Mama will be back with dinner!"

"Who has dinner in the middle of the night?" Scissors whispered to Comb, earning him a kick in the side.

"Good luck with your designs, Rarity dear," the Mane-iac called, slinking towards a metal door and opening it with her mane. "I know whatever you come up with will make quite the," her eyes rolled around, "highlight of my night!"

With a final cackle, she slammed the door behind her.

"Phew!" Blowdry said, wiping his forehead. "I thought she'd never leave!" He glanced over at Rarity. "Now we can have some fun."

"Blowdry," Comb said, grabbing him from the collar. "The boss said…"

"Come on," Blowdry said, smacking his hoof away. "We're bad guys now. Since when do bad guys have to listen to authority figures?"

"Since they can literally whip your flank," Scissors said, massaging his still sore backside.

"Well," Blowdry said, sauntering over to the sewing table, "the boss can't really punish what she doesn't know about." He squeezed Rarity's shoulders, making her stiffen. "Ain't that right, honey?" He traced his hoof over her curls. "How would you like us to give you a proper welcome to our little family?"

Scowling, Rarity huffed through her snout. "As…tempting as that offer sounds," she said, moving her hoof downward, "as a hostage, I am inclined to do whatever my captor says."

Suddenly, Blowdry's eyes widened and his face scrunched as if he was in excruciating pain.

"And," Rarity said, tightening her grip on something the other henchponies couldn't see, "I believe my captor, your boss, made it explicitly clear that you keep," she thrust her hoof downward, making Blowdry squeal, "your hooves," then elbowed him in the stomach, "off!"

She finished with a back blow to the face. Blowdry cried out as he fell to the floor, his legs crossed as he clutched the space between them. The henchponies laughed at his pain while Rarity wiped her hoof on a brown roll of fabric, its color she absolutely abhorred.

"What are you laughing at?!" Blowdry shouted, looking at Comb, who had been stoic the whole time. "Why aren't you pressing that button?!"

"What for?" Comb smirked. "Like she said, she was just following the boss' orders."

"Thank you," Rarity said, darting her eyes at the stallions. "Any pony else want to try their luck?"

They stopped laughing and backed away from her.

"Now if you'll excuse me," she said, sitting at the table and levitating the sketchpad, "I have some uniforms to create. Your uniforms, I might add."

Comb turned to face the group of stallions. "You heard the lady. She doesn't need you lugs distracting her. Shampoo, go take them into the production room and get their measurements for their uniforms. Blowdry," he turned to the stallion still in a fetal position on the floor, "go put some ice on that. Scissors, keep a look-out outside."

The stallions dispersed. Scissors went out the front door, Blowdry started crawling toward the stairwell, and Shampoo led the rest through a pair of double doors that must have led to the production room. Only Comb and Rarity remained in the room, the former standing erect a few feet away from the sewing table.

Rarity glanced down at her bare hooves, cursing herself for not having her bracelets. Even if she did have them, however, using them would risk revealing herself as Radiance. She spied the remote in Comb's hoof and then glanced up at her glowing horn.

At least I still have my natural magic left.

Biting down on her lip, Rarity concentrated her magic on the remote. She waited for her blue aura to envelop the device, but after nearly a minute, nothing happened.

"Don't even think about it," Comb said, waving the remote. "The boss figured you might use your unicorn magic. That's why she made this out of magic-proof metal." He snorted. "About the only product she buys from Glimmer Industries."

Rarity released her breath, doing the same with her magic. Then she looked her guard over. If I can't use my bracelets, and I can't use my unicorn magic, then I'm going to have to take a different approach.

Smirking, Rarity smoothed out her mane and flipped her curls. Rising to her hooves, she sashayed over to Comb.

"I really must thank you, Mister…Comb, was it?" she said, daintily setting her hoof on his shoulder. "For telling off that brute who tried to take advantage of me. You're such a gentlecolt." Her hoof moved down to his foreleg. "And strong."Snaking her hoof around, she began stroking his beard with her other hoof. "And your beard is so…" she leaned forward to whisper, "rugged."

Rolling his eyes, Comb stepped to the side, forcing her to let go.

"Nice try," he said dully. "But the boss chose me to guard you for a reason. I'm not like Blowdry and the others. Don't get me wrong, you're a cute dame and all, but you're not my type."

As a pony who strived to be beautiful and ladylike every day, Rarity couldn't help but feel a little insulted by this.

Scowling, she shouted, "Not your type?! How can I possibly not be your…?"

She trailed off when she caught his sideways glance. Her expression turned to one of realization.

"Oh," she said. "Oh!" Giggling awkwardly, she backed away. "So, so, so sorry. I did not realize you were…I mean not that there's anything wrong with…I'll just, um…get back to designing now!"

When she sat back down at the sewing table, Comb, satisfied, looked back at the garage door. Rarity dropped her smile and groaned in annoyance.

"Your boss really has thought of everything, hasn't she?"

Suddenly, Zapp's voice crackled in her ear. "Guys, guys! You're not gonna believe this! But the hair octopus kidnapper is Dee Tangler!"

Rarity stiffened, and as she listened to the conversation between her colleagues, a smile crept up her face.

Yes, you've thought of everything, Dee, she thought, giggling to herself. Everything except my super colleagues.

She had forgotten about her earpiece. She could call her friends for help! Eyeing her guard, however, Rarity knew she couldn't just call for help with him listening. He would press the red button for sure. If she was ever going to get out of here, she had to be careful, calculative, and cunning.

Dee has no idea what she's up against.



The rest of the Power Ponies were assembled at their headquarters. They had brought Coco for her protection. She was sitting on the rounded couch, cradling Rarity's bracelets and the necklace containing her magically compressed costume. Spike sat next to her, hugging his knees and rocking himself back and forth.

So many thoughts were running through the young dragon's head. On one hand, he was relieved that he wasn't a murderer. On the other, Dee Tangler was alive, now with a super-powered mane and was out for revenge. What if she decided to come after him? She had tried to break into his and Twilight's apartment! On top of that, Rarity was her hostage. Over the past several weeks, he had grown fond of the unicorn. Not only was she beautiful, but she was so nice and dainty and was always calling him adorable. And now she was in trouble.

It was amazing that he hadn't fainted yet.

The Matter-Horn was pacing around the room. "Okay," she said, her breath staggering. "So Dee Tangler is somehow alive, somehow has these mane powers, and has kidnapped Rarity because she wants," she turned to Coco, "evil henchpony uniforms?"

"That's what she said," Coco said.

"And she doesn't have her bracelets," Mare-velous said.

"Why didn't she just wear those to sleep?" Zapp said. "What if some pony tried to attack her in her sleep? Oh, right. That's exactly what happened!" She touched her pendant. "That's why I never take my bolt off."

"Your bolt is different," Coco said. "Rarity's bracelets project whatever she is thinking."

"Yeah, I know that. So?"

"So, even when she's asleep, they're still projecting her thoughts and…" She bit her lip. "Let's just say that last time she wore these to sleep, there were giant, pink, pony-eating sewing machines floating all around the apartment."

Zapp shivered. "Okay, that seems like a reason to take them off at night."

"But if she doesn't have her bracelets," Spike said, his voice panicking, "she won't be able to fight the bad guys! And if she can't fight the bad guys, she won't be able to escape! And if she won't be able to escape…"

"Calm down, Spike," the Matter-Horn said, moving over to give him a hug. "Rarity may not be able to use her powers, but that doesn't mean she can't handle herself."

"I don't know, Twi," Mare-velous said, leaning against the couch. "Rarity may be creative with her attacks, but let's face it, she's not the most…tactful member of our team."

Fili-Second huffed. "That's not very nice."

"AJ has a point," Zapp said to her. "When we were fighting that giant robot last week, the robot kicked you into the air. We shouted to Radiance to make a net, but the best she could do was a regular-sized butterfly net."

Coco blushed at the memory of her failed attempt with the bracelets.

"Oh, right," Fili-Second said, cringing. "But she was still there to break my fall!"

"I don't think any of you are giving Rarity enough credit," the Matter-Horn said. "She may make mistakes in battle, but it's not like she's some damsel in distress."

"Have ya ever seen her in action without her bracelets?" Mare-velous said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean even without my rope, I can still buck off my attackers. I don't think Rarity really stands a chance against…"

Every pony froze when Rarity's voice came from the computer and the heroes' earpieces. "My, this is an awfully big warehouse!"

Spike jumped off the couch. "Rarity?"

The Matter-Horn touched her ear. "She must still have her communication device."

The dragon rushed to the monitor and pressed a button on the keyboard. "Rarity! It's Spike! Are you okay?!"

Instead of answering his question, Rarity proceeded to talk in a voice that sounded exaggeratingly flattering. "I mean look at all these boxes of Tangler haircare products! Is there still some manespray in there? I could really use some!"

"What's she goin' on about?" Mare-velous asked. "Why's she talkin' about manespray?"

Zapp groaned as she clutched her ear. "Is there a way to turn these off for a bit so we don't get feedback from the monitor?"

"Shush!" the Matter-Horn whispered. "I think she's being watched, so she has to make it sound like she's not talking directly to us."

"But this warehouse is so old and dusty!" Rarity's voice whined. "Do I really have to stay in here all night? Couldn't you have kidnapped me to a luxury hotel?"

"Warehouse…manespray…old…" the Matter-Horn murmured. "I think she's being held in one of Dee Tangler's old warehouses."

"Huh," Mare-velous said. "Clever."

"Though really," Rarity continued. "Your boss could've just asked me to make these henchpony uniforms without threatening the life of my roommate. Was it really necessary for her to plant an explosive device on Coco?"

"Did she just say EXPLOSIVE DEVICE?!" Coco squealed, hugging Rarity's accessories closer.

"I suppose it seems I have no choice then but to comply with Dee's, excuse me, the Mane-iac's demands and make your insufferable uniforms! I mean the remote you used to set up the device is magic proof, so I can't just steal it, and you're not into mares so I can't simply charm my way out. Guess it's up to the Power Ponies."

Another voice, one of a stallion's, was heard on the channel. "Yeah, yeah. It's not like they even know where you are."

The Power Ponies all smiled to themselves.

"Have to admit," Mare-velous said, "I underestimated her."

"She's brilliant," Spike said, sighing in awe.

"Excuse me!" Coco said, waving her hoof. "But she just said there's a BOMB on me!"

"Right," the Matter-Horn said. "Fili-Second, there's a metal detector in the lab on the fifth floor. Think you can get it?"

"Be back in a sec!" Fili-Second said. "Or two!"

She zipped off.

"Okay," the Matter-Horn said, pacing in thought. "So from what Rarity told us, she's in a warehouse containing Tangler's haircare products. I'll admit it's not very smart of Tangler to be using one of her own properties as a hideout. But which warehouse? She's got at least five throughout the city. Maybe if we split into teams, we can search each one and…"

"Or," Spike said, typing on the keyboard, "we can just trace the signal from Rarity's communicator."

"Oh." The alicorn blushed. "Right."

Fili-Second returned with a small rectangular device. "Found the metal detector!"

"And I found Rarity's location," Spike said proudly.

Every pony looked at the monitor, which showed a map of Maretropolis. Spike pointed up to the blinking red dot.

"Aha!" the Matter-Horn said. "She's on Dreadlock Way!"

"Figures," Zapp said with a snort.

"We better get down there and fast."

"Yeah!" Spike said, jumping off the revolving chair. "Let's go save Rarity!"

"No, Spike. You stay here with Coco. See if you can locate the explosive device on her and disable it. It must be very small, and it helps that you have fingers."

He dropped his arms and sighed. "Well, if it'll help Rarity…"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Coco said, nodding her head quickly. "Help Rarity, and Coco, very much!"

"Okay, but we need a plan," Mare-velous said. "From what Coco says, this pony has a lot of hair. Hair that's alive."

"And what do we do with hair we don't want?" the Matter-Horn asked.

"Uh…" Zapp said, tapping her chin. "Cut it all off?"

"Exactly!"

"Yippee!" Fili-Second said, bouncing up and down. "I'll get the scissors!"

She was about to zip off when the General Badness Alarm sounded.

"Let me guess," Mare-velous said as she joined Spike at the monitor. "The Mane-iac again?"

"Looks like it," Spike said as he pulled up a black and white picture of a mare with an octopus mane. "This is from the traffic cam across from the place that was robbed."

"What'd she rob this time?" Zapp said, hovering over him. "A bank? The museum?"

Spike cringed. "You're not gonna believe this."



"Who wants Chineighse?" the Mane-iac shouted in a singsong voice upon returning to the warehouse.

By this moment, many of the henchponies had come back into a room. Some were pushing each other around for fun. Others were playing poker in the corner. Upon seeing their boss, they all cheered and raised their hooves.

"Let's see," the Mane-iac said as she began handing out take-out boxes with her mane. "Lo mein, chow mein, fried rice…oh!" She slithered on over to the sewing table. "Don't think I forgot about you, Rarity dear." Sitting next to Rarity, she dropped a box in front of her. "Low-fat spring rolls and sesame seed noodles! Oh," she said, showing her a roll of white linen and roll of boysenberry velvet, "and I stopped by the fabric store on the way."

Rarity stared at the take-out box, remembering last time she and Dee had ordered take-out. When discussing Dee's jumpsuit, it had gotten late, so Dee had suggested they order Chineighse. They had talked for hours after that, laughing and gossiping. It hadn't felt like a business meeting at all.

It truly astonished Rarity that Dee had remembered what she liked. Looking at the Mane-iac, she saw a glimmer of glee in her crazed eyes and her twisted smile. If she didn't know any better, Rarity would think that Dee still cared for her.

"Is this a new thing?" Rarity asked.

The Mane-iac blinked in confusion. "What?"

The unicorn pointed to the villain's mane. "Is this a result of your toxic makeover, or were you always this bipolar?"

"Whatever do you mean, Rarity dear?"

She scowled. "One minute you're threatening to extinguish my roommate, the next," she said, pointing to the take-out box, "you're bringing me Chineighse and acting as if we're best friends!"

"Oh but we are friends, Rarity," the Mane-iac said, wrapping a mane lock around her shoulder. "That's why I brought your favorite!"

Rarity ducked out of her hold. "And what about your workers? Did you always treat them like this? Yell at them and then pretend to be friendly?"

"Why, Rarity!" The Mane-iac brought her hoof to her chest. "Whatever do you take me for? I treat my workers like family! I mean I could've just sent any old fool out to bring home the barley, but being the ever-caring employer that I am, I went out and got it myself! After all, my workers can't do evil on an empty stomach!" She patted Rarity on the head with her mane. "I know you have your needs."

Rarity shook off the villain's mane. "I didn't want to believe it, you know? When every pony said that you knew the mane growth formula was toxic, that you did nothing about it and even put your own workers in danger, I refused believe them! But now I see, all this chumminess…it's all a façade! You were insane before you took a chemical bath, weren't you?!"

Scowling, the Mane-iac slammed her hoof on the sewing table, making the sewing machine and Rarity jump.

"I have half a mind to press that little red button," the villain said, towering above the unicorn, "and blow your friend to smithereens!"

Rarity stiffened as the Mane-iac continued to glare at her. After a moment of silence, the villain took a deep breath and lowered herself to the floor.

"Nevertheless," she said, "your confusion is understandable." She grinned as her mane began patting Rarity's head again. "It took a while for me to adjust to my new state, and it'll take a while for you too." She lifted the unicorn's chin. "But I'm a patient mare. Once you've realized how much more fun our new line of work is, you won't hesitate to call me partner!"

"P-P-Partner?" Rarity stammered. "Now look here! I'm just here to design the…"

"That's what promotions are for, darling! Now," the Mane-iac said, looking down at Rarity's sketchpad, "what evil ensembles have you come up with?"

Seeing that she was not getting through to her, Rarity heaved a sigh and levitated her sketchpad into view. "Alright," she said in a flat tone. "So since you're going with a hair theme with your villainous schemes, I thought of this barbershop look. Of course, boysenberry and white don't exactly match the fur tones of every stallion here…"

"What tone would work?" the Mane-iac interjected.

"Um…pale, I suppose?"

"Then we'll powder their fur! Ooh!" The villain ran her hooves through her mane. "And their manes should be dyed green like mine!"

Rarity cringed. "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"I like it!" She tapped a mane lock on the henchpony drawing. "Make a dozen of these!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Not like I have any other choice but to…"

Every pony jumped as something burst through the garage door. Rarity coughed as she waved a cloud of dust out of her eyes. When the dust cleared, the four Power Ponies were standing in front of the large gaping hole.

"Dee Tangler," the Matter-Horn said, flapping her wings. "You have a few things that don't belong to you."

"Power Ponies," the Mane-iac said, chuckling as she moved in front of the sewing table. "I was so hoping I would run into you."

"And we were so hoping to give you a hoofful of pain!" Zapp said, pounding her hooves together.

"Is that so?"

The Mane-iac then rose above the heroes, her mane holding her up. The Power Ponies gaped up at her in amazement.

"Maybe you haven't noticed," she said, "but I recently got some…mane extensions!"

"Yeah," Mare-velous said, nodding. "We noticed."

"But we're here for your six o'clock hair appointment," Fili-Second said.

The Mane-iac raised an eyebrow. "What hair appointment?"

"Don't you remember, Dee?" the Matter-Horn said. "You called us earlier for a," smiling, she levitated a pair of scissors into view, "trim."

The other three brought out their pairs of scissors. Without the Mane-iac noticing, Rarity also produced a pair of scissors from her sewing materials.

"Power Ponies," Mare-velous said, attaching her scissors to the end of her rope, "let's split some hairs!"

The heroes charged for the villain.

"Minions!" the Mane-iac cried, pointing. "Attack!"

The henchponies dropped everything they were doing and went after the heroes. The Matter-Horn froze a trio of stallions with her horn. Blowdry leapt onto Mare-velous' back.

"Now what's a nice mare like you doing in a place like this?" he asked cockily.

"I was about," she said, rising to her hind legs, "to ask you," she did a flip, forcing him to let go, "the same thing."

She knocked him out with a back kick to the face.

Fili-Second weaved through her attackers with ease, causing many of them to collide into each other. "Over here!" she cried. "Nope! Missed me!"

Zapp raised her bolt and summoned a small tornado to round up the henchponies. "Looks like you boys could use a…blow-dry!"

"Some pony call me?" Blowdry asked in a daze.

Mare-velous kicked him back into unconsciousness. She was then suddenly caught off-guard as one of the Mane-iacs locks grabbed her by the hoof. Mare-velous was brought to the villain's face.

"The only one allowed to rough up my workers," the Mane-iac said, snapping her mane in all directions, "is me!"

One lock snagged Zapp by the wing, throwing off her concentration enough for her developing tornado to diminish into still air. Another lock wrapped around the Matter-Horn's horn.

"Hey!" Fili-Second cried. "Put my friends down!"

She whipped out her scissors and zipped all around the Mane-iac. Snips and whizzes were heard all around the room. When Fili-Second came to a stop, however, the Mane-iac's mane was still intact. The scissors, meanwhile, were shattered in Fili-Second's hoof.

"What the…?" she uttered.

The Mane-iac threw her head back in a fit of laughter. "Turns out my mane is un-cuttable! Convenient, eh? Saves me a lot of money on hair appointments!"

Rarity sheepishly put down her scissors.

The Matter-Horn scowled as her horn grew red. "We don't need puny scissors to defeat you!"

The Mane-iac cried out as her hair was singed, forcing her to release the alicorn.

"Aha!" the Matter-Horn said with a smirk. "Your mane may be scissors-proof, but not fireproof! Zapp! Summon some lightning!"

"You got it!" Zapp said.

She wriggled one of her hooves free so that she could grab hold of her pendant.

"Fili-Second, help Mare-velous get free," the Matter-Horn said, starting up her heat ray once again. "Zapp and I will burn her mane to a crisp."

The Mane-iac didn't look fazed by the Matter-Horn's threat. In fact, she only laughed and surprised every pony further by releasing her hold on her prisoners.

"Foals," she said. "Did you really think I would be so idiotic as to face you lot without having a plan?"

It had escaped the heroes' notice that one of her mane locks had been reaching into the back room.

"On the contrary," she continued, "as an entrepreneur, I know how important it is to keep," she whipped out a large pink hairspray can, "insured!"

Before any pony could react, the Mane-iac pushed down on the can's nozzle and sprayed all around the room. Rarity hid under the sewing table as a pink cloud formed overhead. When the spray cleared, the Power Ponies were all frozen in place, their expressions stunned. The only parts of them that still moved were their blinking eyes, and apparently their mouths.

"W-What?" the Matter-Horn said. "H-How…?"

"Behold!" The Mane-iac cackled as she waved the giant can in their faces. "My Hairspray Ray of Doom! Stops you in your tracks and renders your powers useless!" She kissed the side of the can. "What do you think I stole all that glue for? A macaroni collage? I always knew double-majoring in chemistry and engineering would pay off. See?" She leaned towards her adversaries. "I'm more than just a pretty face."

"Boss!" Blowdry cried.

He and a few other henchponies had apparently also been affected by the hairspray and were standing stiff.

"Oh," the Mane-iac said, waving her hoof. "Don't worry, boys, the effects only last a minute. Unfortunately." She sneered at the heroes as she shook up her can. "Which is why we're going to have to keep spraying all of you." She looked around the room. "Whoever's not frozen, get the cage and lock them up!"

The Power Ponies yelled and grunted as they were dragged into a corner, into which Scissors and Comb were pushing a large metal cage. The heroes were locked up and the hairspray can was placed in front, pointing directly at them.

"It's funny," the Mane-iac said, slithering over to her prisoners and placing her hooves on the bars. "I really thought you'd be harder to defeat. Guess I'm too brilliant for you. Now," she said, her mane locks reaching into the cage, "let's see what's under those masks, shall we?"

The Matter-Horn winced as a mane lock tugged at her mask. But it wouldn't budge.

"What?" the Mane-iac said as she attempted to pull off Mare-velous' mask. "What's this?"

The Matter-Horn smiled smugly. "We were prepared too, Tangler. See, we expected failure just as much as success. I mean you think this is the first time I've been captured by a supervillain? Of course you'd be tempted to uncover our identities! That's why I cast a spell on our costumes so that only we can take them off. That includes our masks."

"Smart move," Mare-velous murmured in admiration.

"And good luck trying to figure out our secret identities!" Zapp said.

"Yeah!" Fili-Second exclaimed. "We don't even wear masks!"

The Mane-iac groaned in annoyance. Then, after studying the heroes, she grinned maliciously.

"Very well. If I can't take those masks off the normal way," she said, pulling out a switchblade, "I'm just going to have to peel them off your skin."

The Power Ponies shrunk back at the sight of the blade glinting under the lamplight.

"Boy," Zapp said with a gulp. "She's not kidding around, is she?"

"Lady," Fili-Second said, "you loco in the coco!"

She put her hoof to her chest. "You flatter me. It's a real shame that I have to do this. We could've had so many glorious battles together."

As the Mane-iac moved the blade between the bars, Rarity let out a gasp and raced over to the cage.

"No, wait!" She threw herself between the villain and the cage. "Please, Dee, don't hurt them!"

"I'm afraid I have to, Rarity dear," the Mane-iac said. "They'll only get in the way of my revenge against Twilight Sparkle."

The Matter-Horn blinked. "Twilight Sparkle?"

"Of course! She's the reason my company was shut down! The reason I became this!" She gestured to her mane.

"If you ask me," Zapp said with a snort, "it's an improvement."

The Mane-iac growled. "Why, you… Wait." She counted the heroes in the cage. "Isn't there usually one more of you?"

Rarity's eyes widened as an idea occurred to her. "Err…yes! Radiance! They must've…left her behind for backup! Yes!"

"Huh?" Fili-Second said.

Rarity winked at her before turning to the Mane-iac. "You can't destroy all the Power Ponies without them all here. These heroes are worth more to you alive than dead. Without them, you don't have the bait to lure Radiance here. She's sure to come to her friends' rescue soon, don't you think?"

Scratching her chin with her mane, the villain studied the prisoners. "You may have a point, Rarity dear. I suppose keeping them alive a little longer might be…beneficial." She noticed Fili-Second's leg twitch. "Stand back for a moment."

The Mane-iac and Rarity both stepped aside while the former pressed down on the hairspray can with her mane, coating the heroes in another dose of the spray.

"But how would Radiance even know where to come?" the Mane-iac questioned.

"Their tower!" Rarity exclaimed, forcing a grin. "Get the message to the tower and she's sure to get it! I mean don't they usually leave some pony there to watch it?"

She glanced at her teammates as she said this. Their eyes all widened in realization.

"Oh, yes!" Zapp said.

"Most definitely!" the Matter-Horn said.

"Sure thing!" Mare-velous said.

"You can't tell, but I'm nodding right now," Fili-Second said.

"Very well then," the Mane-iac said. "Scissors! Stay by the Hairspray Ray of Doom. Get an egg timer, spray our guests every minute! Rarity dear," the Mane-iac said, cupping Rarity's chin with her mane, "do get back to those uniforms. I want them ready for the Charity Ball this evening."

Rarity blinked. "The Charity Ball? You mean…you're still going?"

"We're still going. And of course." The Mane-iac straightened out her jumpsuit. "I never fail to make a public appearance. By the way," she said as she turned away, "nice to see you finally embracing the evil, darling. It looks good on you."

Rarity waited until the Mane-iac was across the room and the minions were too far away to hear. When she was sure it was safe, she turned to her friends.

"Is Spike still at the tower?" she whispered. "Blink once for yes, two for no."

"What if I have to blink for real?" Fili-Second whined.

"Shush!" Mare-velous hissed before making eye contact with Rarity. "You know we can still talk, right?"

"Yes, Spike's still at the tower," the Matter-Horn said. "He's trying to locate the bomb on Coco."

"Can't you use your magic to get the keys or something?" Zapp asked.

Rarity sighed. "Unfortunately, Dee seems to favor magic-proof metal. That's why I couldn't get the remote for the explosive device on Coco. No doubt she did the same with this cage and possibly the keys."

The Matter-Horn rolled her eyes. "I told Starlight Glimmer not to make that metal available to the public!" She sighed. "Seems like Spike and Coco are our only hopes right now. But until then…"

"I know," Rarity said. "I'll stall for time as long as I can." She traced her ear where the communication device was implanted. "I just hope those two can handle something like this."



Back at Power Ponies Headquarters, Spike was scaling the metal detector up Coco's body.

"Try not to shake so much," he said as he reached her knees.

"I can't help it!" Coco exclaimed. "The thought that I could just blow up at any moment…"

"Calm down. We'll find it."

"I'm also worried about Rarity. I mean…I had the bracelets. I could've helped her, but…" She sighed. "I don't know, I was just so scared I couldn't think…"

"Hey, I get it." He was now scanning her stomach. "I know how it feels to be…well, useless." He went to her torso. "I mean…Twilight can do all these incredible things. She can freeze stuff, melt stuff, even make wings grow out of her back! Spread out your forelegs."

She did as he said so that he could scan each foreleg.

"Not to mention she's the head of this huge company," he continued, "and helps millions of ponies every day, both as the Masked Matter-Horn and billionaire Twilight Sparkle." He examined her neck. "And I'm just stuck here, telling her what's up and where to go. And when it becomes too much for her, does she ask me to help? No. She just calls up these super-powered strangers as backup!" He proceeded to her head. "Don't get me wrong, I like them all, but…I just wish they'd give me a chance to…you know, help them out for real."

"At least you actually do stuff," Coco said. "I mean…since Rarity got those bracelets, I've gotten hit by a car, nearly suffocated by a crazed mane mutant, and planted with a bomb! Your work at least warrants that of an assistant. I'm more of a damsel in distress than anything."

"Hey!" Spike said as the metal detector beeped. "I think I've got something! Hold still." He raised his claw and started combing it through her hair. "Just as I thought." He pulled out a tiny circular metal device the size of a nit. "Figures. What with Dee Tangler being obsessed with hair and all."

He threw the metal bug to the ground and then jumped onto it, crushing it instantly.

"Guess it wasn't dragon-proof," he said with a laugh. "I gotta tell the girls." He rushed to the monitor and opened the communication channel. "Spike to Power Ponies. The bomb on Coco has been located and disposed of. There's nothing the Mane-iac can use against you now, Rarity."

Spike grinned proudly as he waited for a reply. Then a minute of silence passed. Frowning, he tried again.

"Power Ponies, do you copy? Twilight? Applejack? Rarity? Dash? Pinkie? Any pony?"

Still nothing.

"What's going on?" Coco asked, rising from the couch.

"Something's wrong," Spike said. "I mean I know Rarity has to be careful about what she says, but I'd expect at least one of the others to answer."

Just then, Rarity's voice came through the monitor. "I must say, Dee, very few villains have been successful in capturing the Power Ponies."

"It's Rarity!" Spike cried, turning back to the monitor.

Coco gulped. "Did she just say the Power Ponies were…captured?!"

"Shush! We need to hear this!"

"And that whole Hairspray Ray of Doom was a brilliant touch," Rarity continued in a tone of mocking praise. "Mixing superglue with hairspray to freeze them so that they can't use their powers! Marvelous!"

"Oh no," Coco squeaked.

"But it might be a while before Radiance shows up to rescue them. You should consider feeding them. All prisoners are entitled to a last meal, after all. Who knows? Radiance might not show up before the Charity Ball."

"The Charity Ball!" Spike said. "That's tonight! Twilight and I have tickets!"

"Rarity's been talking about that all week," Coco said.

"But are you definitely sure Twilight Sparkle, the mare you want revenge on, is going to be there?"

Spike gasped. "So that's her plan. The Mane-iac's planning to get her revenge on Twilight at the Charity Ball tonight."

"But…" Coco said in thought. "Twilight's not gonna be there because…"

"The Matter-Horn's already in the Mane-iac's clutches!"

"And Radiance is not going to try to save her friends because…"

"Rarity's also already in the Mane-iac's clutches! Rarity must be trying to stall for time until we find a way to help them escape."

"But what can we do? Call the police?"

Spike scoffed. "You think they stand a chance against the Mane-iac? She's captured the most powerful ponies in Maretropolis for crying out loud! No. We're the only ones who can save our friends now."

Coco's eyes widened. "B-But…you said so yourself! The Mane-iac just took down the most powerful ponies in Maretropolis! How are we supposed to defeat her?! We don't have powers! I can't even get these stupid bracelets to work!"

"Coco!" Spike said, grabbing her face. "Listen to me. Our friends are in danger and we're the only ones who know where to find them. The Mane-iac doesn't know about us. She won't see us coming. We may not have super powers, but we love our friends. So…we gotta at least try, right?"

After a moment's hesitation, Coco sighed in relent. "I'll…I'll do what I can to help Rarity and the others. But still, how can we fight the Mane-iac?"

"Hmm," Spike said, leaping off his chair. "Let's see…"

He began pacing the room. This went on for about an hour. Coco, exhausted from the night's events, had fallen asleep on the couch. Suddenly, a beep sounded from the monitor, forcing Coco to wake.

"What? What happened?"

"The analysis on the Mane-iac's hair is complete," Spike said, rushing over to his rolling chair. Onscreen was a picture of green hair strands. "According to the computer, it definitely shares strands of Dee Tangler's original DNA, but it's been corrupted by the same chemicals that were in her mane growth formula."

Coco stepped up to his side. "So…what does that mean?"

"When that live wire fell into the formula while Dee Tangler was still in there, it must have induced a chemical reaction that not only grew her mane, but pretty much brought it to life!"

"So you're saying that her mane was mutated by a…electrified shampoo job?"

After taking a moment to think on that, Spike nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow," Coco said, looking at the screen. "I recognize some of these ingredients. It's stuff you find in most haircare products." She couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Without all that radioactive stuff, this is basically a heavily shampooed mane."

Spike's eyes widened in excitement. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"I have a plan," he said, pointing to Coco. "But you're gonna have to learn how to use those bracelets before tonight."

Coco looked back at the couch where the bracelets lay. "Me? But I don't…"

"You have to try! For Rarity!" He started listing things on his claw. "We're also gonna need some formal attire, some cool costumes, Twilight's holo-matic, and an extra set of hooves."

"What set of hooves? What's a holo-matic?"

Instead of answering her, he opened the communication channel and said, "Rarity, girls, I know you can't answer me right now, but Coco and I have a plan to get you out. But we can't put it into action until tonight, so hang in there." Tears started forming in his eyes. "We won't let you down."



It was a slow day at the Maretropolis Museum, but Fluttershy preferred small crowds anyway. On her way to the sculpture garden, she passed by the museum curator, who looked disgruntled about something.

"Good morning, Mr. Fetlock," Fluttershy said with a pleasant smile.

"You!" Mr. Fetlock exclaimed, pointing to her. "Statue Girl! You're a friend of Miss Dash, aren't you?"

She shrunk back in fear. "Um…m-m-maybe?"

"Well you tell your friend to get her sorry flank over here, or call me and tell me why she hasn't come in for work today! She promised she'd help rearrange the Anugypt exhibit! Do you have any idea how hard it is to move seven-foot-tall jackal statues?!" He grunted loudly as he stomped away. "That lazy, good for nothing…"

Fluttershy watched him leave in bewilderment. She knew Rainbow Dash often made excuses to leave work early so she could fight crime, but it wasn't like her to miss work without an explanation. Bringing out her cell, Fluttershy dialed Rainbow. After several tones, all that came was a voice message.

"Hi, this is Rainbow Dash. I can't come to the phone right now cuz I'm busy at the museum or I'm on an adventure with Daring Do. Either way, it's awesome. Please leave a message after the beep."

Fluttershy put her phone away. She's probably off with the Power Ponies somewhere, she thought.

She proceeded to the sculpture garden. Through all the years she had come here, she had memorized the entire layout of the outdoor exhibit. From the broken statue of Aphrodite, to the flag-bearing statue of Victory. But there was one statue that always had her undivided attention.

In the middle stood a very tall statue of a dragon-like creature with assorted body parts. His eagle claw was spread upward, his lion paw lay over his chest, and his large jaw was open so wide, his eyes were closed. It was almost as if the creature were laughing, or singing.

Fluttershy seated herself at his goat hoof and dragon foot, right beside the "Do Not Touch" sign. She looked up at the peculiar statue.

"Hello, Discord," she murmured. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of ponies there to hear her. "Doctor Fauna gave me the day off today, so I thought I'd visit you. After all, it's such a lovely day to be sitting in this garden, don't you think?"

As expected, there was no reply. Fluttershy sighed.

"You must think me silly. Talking to a statue. But ever since…well, since I found you and they told me who you were, I…I can't help but think that…maybe it really is you in there, and you're not a statue at all."

The statue remained silent.

"The history books say that…that you did really bad things to be put in there." She twiddled her hooves together. "Still, I…I can't imagine it being very comfortable in there, after thousands of years. I wonder if you can even hear me, or…" She hung her head. "If you even know that…that I'm here."

She looked back up. "I don't know why you did it. Why you tried to take over the world, or why you…you cursed me like this. But…well, seeing you, I…I wonder…if you ever had a friend to stop you from doing all that. I mean…looking the way you do, it must've been hard. Unless, you know, you're able to change form like all the other gods in the stories."

She shook her head with a laugh. "I'm rambling. You're probably tired of my rambling. If you can hear me, that is. I know I can be annoying, but…I just…I just like talking to you, that's all."

A tear started to fall down her cheek. "Every pony…expects so much of me. But you…you don't expect anything of me. At least I don't think so. I mean you never say otherwise." She wiped away the tear. "Why did you do this to me? Was there a reason? Or…was it just for fun?" She sniffed. "Either way, please undo it. I…I don't want to hurt any more ponies."

"Fluttershy!" a voice called.

Fluttershy turned. "Spike?"

The little dragon was running toward her, breathing heavily. "We…need…help."

She stood up. "Spike, what is it?"

He panted as he stopped and put his claws on his knees. "Rarity, Twilight, the girls, they…they've been captured!"

Fluttershy gasped. "Captured?"

"By that crazy shampoo lady, Dee Tangler! She's become a mutant mane monster called the Mane-iac!" He paused to scoff. "Try saying that ten times fast."

"The Power Ponies have been captured? Rainbow and…Applejack too?"

"Yes!"

Fluttershy's mouth fell open. "I…I didn't see Applejack at breakfast, but…I just assumed she'd been out late. I mean it's not the first time…and Rainbow, she…I didn't realize it was that…"

"We can panic later," Spike said, grabbing her hooves. "Listen, Rarity's friend Coco Pommel and I have a plan to save them. But we're going to need your help!"

"Me?!" she squeaked. "B-B-But…how can I help?"

"Well, not you, you. The other you."

Upon realizing to what he was inferring, she pulled her hooves out of his grasp. "Oh no. No! I already told you I wasn't going to…to turn into that monster again!"

"Fluttershy, when you're that monster, you're stronger than all the Power Ponies combined! It's the only chance we have to defeat the Mane-iac and her minions!"

"No," Fluttershy said, turning her face away. "I won't do it. I refuse to hurt any pony else!"

Spike groaned. "This isn't like last time, Fluttershy! You need to change into that monster to save our friends! You've known Rainbow Dash since you were fillies, and Applejack's your roommate! Do you want them to die?!"

Fluttershy stiffened at the thought of two of her dearest friends dying. "But…what if I lose too much control and…I hurt my friends instead of their captors?"

"If it means saving our friends from certain doom, isn't it worth the risk?" Spike carefully grabbed her face so she could look at him. "Fluttershy, everything happens for a reason. You were given these powers for a reason. Don't you think this is it?"

Fluttershy glanced up at the statue of Discord, as if he were to give an answer. Of course, he didn't. But Spike had a point. There must have been a reason Discord had cursed her. What if it wasn't to spread chaos like she had always thought? What if, after all those years in stone, Discord had taken the time to think about what he'd done, that he wanted to do good instead of evil? Only, since he couldn't do good while in stone, he had given Fluttershy the power to do good for him?

Maybe she was overthinking this. Still, her friends were in danger, friends who had stopped her from destroying the city, friends who had remained loyal even after discovering her secret, friends who had believed in her even when she didn't believe in herself.

Now was the time to repay them for all their kindness and heroism.



The Mane-iac was pacing around the warehouse, her mane acting as her hooves. "Where is that confounded Radiance?! It's been almost a full day now since I slid that note under her door!"

Rarity was dressed in a purple sequin gown, sitting while Comb and Scissors curled her mane. The Mane-iac had insisted her "companion" be dressed and have her mane done for the ball. After all, it was still a high society event, even if they were crashing it.

"R-Relax, Dee!" Rarity said, trying to sound reassuring. "She's, err, probably just waiting for you to leave! That's it! I mean…Radiance is no idiot, she wouldn't try to save her friends while some pony as powerful and, err, clever as you is holding down the fort!"

The Mane-iac stopped. "You do have a point." She looked at the wall clock. "It's almost time for the," her eyes rolled around, "mane event, anyway. Minions!"

Her henchponies were now all dressed in purple-and-white-striped vests that made them look like barbers. The Mane-iac had had them dye their manes green and powder their coats white. She had also used a stencil to spray paint a brush cutie mark on each flank. The makeovers had been done so precisely, the stallions might as well have been clones.

"Half of you will remain here with the Stylists," the Mane-iac said.

"Aw!" Scissors complained. "We're not coming to the party?"

She glared at him. "Got a problem?"

He shrunk back. "Err…no!"

"Good." She turned back to the henchponies. "Watch the prisoners. If Radiance comes while we're gone, use the Hairspray Ray of Doom on her and put her with the rest. When I get back," she said, cracking one of her mane locks like a whip, "I'll give them a nice, close shave."

Rarity gulped as Scissors and Comb finished with her mane and stepped back.

"Oh, Rarity darling," the Mane-iac said, clasping her hooves together, "you look absolutely exquisite! You're sure to catch every stallion's eye at the ball!"

"No kidding," Rarity grumbled, glancing at her bizarre companion. "Dee, it's not too late to…"

She was cut off as the Mane-iac scooped her up in her hair. "Come! We mustn't be late for our big debut! Minions, to the ball!"

Half the henchponies followed her out the door, cheering. Rarity managed to wriggle one hoof free so she could press down on her communication device.

"Yes, yes!" she said, pretending to cheer with the rest. "To the ball! Yes! You, me, and half the henchponies!" The rest she said under her breath so only Spike could hear. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Back inside the warehouse, the egg timer went off.

"Better go spray them again," Shampoo said.

"I got it," Comb said, climbing up the ladder so he could press down on the nozzle.

The Power Ponies closed their eyes as they were coated in spray again. Fili-Second coughed.

"I can't feel my nostrils!" she said in a raspy voice.

"Spike better figure out a way to get us out soon," Zapp whispered. "I really need to go to the bathroom!"

"And what's the Mane-iac gonna do when she realizes Twilight Sparkle's not gonna be at the ball?" Mare-velous whispered to the Matter-Horn.

"Even worse," the Matter-Horn murmured, "when she realizes Radiance is not coming. It's all up to Spike now."

"What's he gonna do? He's just a kid! I mean, how exactly can he get us out of…?"

"Um…" a soft voice said. "Excuse me?"

Every pony looked to the other end of the room where a masked mare crawled out from behind a pile of boxes. She was a pegasus with yellow fur and teal eyes that shone through her purple mask. Her pink mane and tail were brushed back in a way that it looked like they were flying in the wind. She wore a teal jumpsuit with a frilly pink collar. A purple scarf with a daisy pin was wrapped around her neck, and on her front hooves were two pink beaded bracelets each with a large yellow butterfly. The henchponies stared at her curiously.

"Um," she said, meekly lowering her head. "If…if you wouldn't mind, I…I would greatly appreciate it if…if you'd let my friends go right now." She shrunk back. "Err, please."

Mare-velous squinted at the mare and then widened her eyes in recognition. She exchanged a glance with Zapp and could tell that she had reached the same conclusion.

The henchponies roared into a collective fit of laughter.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Blowdry said, slapping his knee. "Mistress Meek-Mare?!"

The mare bit her lip. "Um, no, I…actually, I haven't quite decided on my name yet…"

"She's Saddle Rager!" Fili-Second shouted.

The other Power Ponies glanced at her.

"What?" she said. "You all knew she was gonna join us eventually. One of us had to think of a name for her."

"Saddle Rager?" Scissors scoffed. "And what's your power? Saddling us with your pathetic begging?!"

This made the stallions laugh harder. Saddle Rager took a step back as she was reminded of the colts who had bullied her at flight camp, how they had laughed at her, how they had ridiculed her. It made her feel ridiculous…but something else. Already she felt heat rising in her chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Matter-Horn said.

"And why not?" Shampoo asked. "What's she gonna do?"

"I say we spray her and put her with the others," Comb said.

"Why bother?" Blowdry said, stepping towards her. "Look at her. It's not like she can do anything."

Comb saw the intention in his eyes. "Blowdry…"

"What? The boss didn't want us touching her mare Friday." He smiled wickedly at Saddle Rager. "Didn't say anything about this one."

He grabbed her foreleg. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Let go," she said, her voice becoming hoarse.

He chuckled. "Or what?"

Saddle Rager locked gaze with him as her eyes suddenly became red. The laughs of the henchponies, and the colts at flight camp, echoed in her head. They were making her blood boil with fury.

She was done being a pushover. She had been given this power for a reason. The sight of her friends, helpless to defend themselves, reminded her of that reason.

"Or," Saddle Rager said, surprising every pony with her sudden deep voice. "I," she said, her legs ripping through her costume as they became more muscular, "crush," Blowdry cried out as her grip tightened around his hoof and she began growing in size, "YOU!"

"What the…?" Scissors said, stepping back with the rest as they gazed up at the now much taller, much more muscular mare.

The Power Ponies smirked as the henchponies were too busy to notice the egg timer going off.

"Gentlecolts," Mare-velous said as she began wriggling her hoof free, "meet our new partner."



Maretropolis City Hall was packed with well-dressed ponies, all there to either support their favorite charities, or to earn publicity for showing up at a charitable event. A stage was set up with a podium. Behind the red curtain, the stagehooves were tied up. The Mane-iac peered through the curtain.

"Where is that Twilight Sparkle?" she asked in annoyance. "She was supposed to be here!"

"Oh no," Rarity said unenthusiastically. "How tragic. Guess we should try this plan some other time."

The Mane-iac turned to her henchponies. "Are the sprinklers set?"

They nodded. Rarity looked at the villain nervously.

"Err…what sprinklers?"

The Mane-iac chuckled darkly. "When I give the signal, one of my minions will trigger the fire alarm, which will in turn set off the sprinkler system. Only, instead of sprinkling water, they will be sprinkling my special hairspray."

Rarity gasped. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes! The same hairspray I used for the Hairspray Ray of Doom! That will freeze every pony in this room, including the authorities and Twilight Sparkle herself, allowing me to nab her without having any pony else interfering! The spray will only last for a minute, leaving me with enough time to bring Twilight Sparkle to the stage, wrap my mane around her, and squeeze her to death in front of all these witnesses!"

She noticed Rarity's fearful quivering. "Oh, but don't worry, darling." She wrapped a lock around the unicorn's shoulder. "I disabled the sprinklers backstage, so we won't be frozen."

"That's," Rarity said, using her magic to levitate the Mane-iac's mane off her shoulder, "not what I'm concerned about." She looked the villain in the eye. "Dee, this is more serious than robbing factories, kidnapping, and making threats. You're talking about murder here! Once you do this, there's no turning back!" She bravely took her hoof. "Please, Dee, as your friend, I beg you, one last time, to reconsider! Think of the consequences! You could go to prison for life!"

"Bah!" The Mane-iac let out a laugh. "You think I'm afraid of the police? Once the Power Ponies are out of the way, there will be no pony to stop me!"

"It's not just your freedom you'd lose, Dee." Rarity closed her eyes. "You'd lose me."

The Mane-iac blinked, looking genuinely worried. "W-What do you mean?"

Opening her eyes again, Rarity said, "That's the real reason you wanted me here, isn't it? It was never about uniforms. Unlike your minions, I was not just some hired help." She blinked as tears started welling up. "You…you actually care about me. Why else would you have commanded your ruffians not to lay a hoof on me? Why else would you have even bothered to bring me my favorite food? Even in your demented state, you still want my friendship.

"But friendship cannot be bought, Dee." She dropped the Mane-iac's hoof. "You can threaten me all you like, threaten the ones I love, strike me down for all I care! But if you do this, Dee, I…I won't be your friend anymore. When you are hauled away, when you are incarcerated for your crimes, I will not be there to defend you." She narrowed her gaze in determination. "There will be no pony left to care for you."

The Mane-iac stared at her in disbelief. Rarity almost could have sworn that she saw a tear in the corner of her green and red eye. For a fleeting moment, hope returned to Rarity's heart that Dee was coming to her senses.

Then the villain shook her head with a scowl. "You think it matters whether or not you care for me?" Her mane coiled around Rarity and pulled her closer. "I don't need your friendship! As long as you're here, doing whatever I say, what does it matter how you feel?! Don't forget." She brought out her remote. "You have no choice."

She smirked at the device. "Maybe this will convince you."

A mane lock drew closer to the big red button.

"Boss!" one of the minions called. "I see Twilight Sparkle in the crowd!"

"What?" Rarity said in surprise.

The Mane-iac dropped her and rushed to the curtain opening. Sure enough, she spotted Twilight in a shimmering blue gown, accompanied by her dragon assistant. They were conversing with Starlight Glimmer, who wore a red ruffled gown.

"Excellent," the Mane-iac said. "Be ready to pull the switch on the fire alarm on my signal."

Still confused on how it was possible for Twilight to be at the party, Rarity pressed down on her communication device. "And when you activate the fire alarm, your spray which freezes every pony in their path and renders their magic useless will be sprayed through the sprinklers?"

The Mane-iac frowned. "Yes, I just told you that."

"Oh my! Good thing we are safe backstage! Every pony else is sure to get sprayed!" Rarity glanced through the crack in the curtain. "Unless they hide under the tables, of course!"

She really hoped Spike and Twilight, if that was her, were listening in.

"Ready," the Mane-iac said, raising her hoof. "Now!"

She threw down her hoof, signaling the henchpony to pull the switch. The fire alarm rang out throughout the ballroom. There were screams and gasps as the sprinklers were set off. Before long, there was silence. The Mane-iac chuckled lowly, gently rising to a maniacal cackle as she threw back the curtains. Every pony in the ballroom was completely frozen in place.

"Citizens of Maretropolis!" she said, rising up with the help of her mane. "It is I, Dee Tangler!"

There were some surprised gasps.

"That's right!" She laughed. "I'm back from the dead! And I'm better than ever before!" She looked around the room. "I hope you don't mind me putting a small stop to the party, but see, I've come to make a contribution to your little charity event, under the name of," she spread out her hooves, "the Mane-iac!"

She began crawling across the room, weaving her way through the throng of frozen ponies. "I'm going to do you all a favor by ridding this city," she spotted Starlight Glimmer and tipped her over for the heck of it, "of its most corrupt business pony! The one who destroyed my company and nearly killed me!" She faced her audience. "Twilight Sparkle!"

She frowned suddenly as she glanced around. "Where is she?"

Rarity peered through the curtains to see what was going on. The Mane-iac was searching frantically, pushing ponies over in the process.

"She was just here!" she shouted. "Where did she go?!"

"Sorry, Miss Tangler," said a voice.

The Mane-iac turned sharply as the source of the voice crawled out from beneath the buffet table. Rarity gaped in astonishment, for the mare standing before the Mane-iac was…Radiance?

"But Twilight Sparkle had to leave early," said Rarity's costumed doppelganger. "She wasn't in the mood to be kidnapped and murdered today."

The Mane-iac growled. "Radiance. And here I was beginning to think you were too cowardly to come."

Radiance smirked. "Well, darling, I couldn't possibly miss one of the biggest events of the year."

"Enough talk." The villain's mane locks rose above her. "Let's get this over with!"

"I thought you'd never ask, darling."

As the Mane-iac's mane whipped towards Radiance, the latter lifted up a hoof. Rarity unmistakably recognized her pink bracelet, which was currently glowing. A pink bubble materialized around the doppelganger.

"Darling," Radiance said as the bubble disappeared. "You really have to do something about those mane extensions."

She summoned a pink cannon.

"Minions!" the Mane-iac called as she dodged an oncoming cannonball. "Attack!"

The henchponies began rushing out from backstage. Rarity, thinking fast, used her magic to take control of one of the curtains, wrap it around the henchponies and tie them all into a bunch.

"Rarity!" the Mane-iac shouted, ducking as Radiance shot a pink arrow.

"Oops," Rarity said, batting her eyes innocently. "My horn slipped."

The villain growled. "You traitor!" She brought out the remote. "You will pay for this!"

She cried out as a pink pebble knocked the remote out of her mane. She turned to see Radiance with a slingshot.

"That's it!" the Mane-iac yelled.

Faster than either of them could react, the Mane-iac whipped out two long mane locks, snatching up Radiance and Rarity. Laughing, she brought them to her face. Her grips around their middles tightened.

"Any last words?"

Radiance glanced over their captor's shoulder and smiled. "Yes. I hope you brought conditioner."

The Mane-iac blinked in confusion. "What?"

The villain cried out as her back was suddenly spurted with cold water. Her mane, soaked and heavy, fell limp all around her, in turn releasing Rarity and Radiance. So much of her mane had been above her that it fell on top of the Mane-iac, forcing her to the floor.

Standing directly behind her was a small purple dragon in a black mask, red cape, blue gloves and blue boots. Around his waist was a blue belt with a gold buckle. In his gloved claws was a hose.

"Spike?" Rarity muttered.

"Haircare 101, Mane-iac," the dragon said with a smile. "Hair is absolutely useless when wet." He tossed the hose away. "Good thing the Mayor keeps these things around in case of fire." He looked over at Rarity and winked. "You're welcome, my lady."

At this point, the effects of the Mane-iac's spray were wearing off and the guests were starting to move again. Those who could move their front hooves were clapping.

"That little dragon saved us!" one guest said.

"Who is he?" asked another.

Spike opened his mouth to answer when Starlight Glimmer said, "Ugh. His outfit is so…humdrum!"

He stiffened. "Humdrum?!"

"Hooray for Humdrum!" cheered a guest.

"What?" He held out his claws. "No, no, no! That's not…"

But the crowed didn't hear him as they started chanting, "Humdrum! Humdrum! Humdrum!"

He sighed. "Never mind."

Suddenly, the rest of the Power Ponies burst through the front doors. Saddle Rager was still in full monster mode.

"Alright, Mane-iac!" the Matter-Horn said. "Time to get your mane…"

She trailed off when she saw the Mane-iac on the floor. In the attempt to rise, she had wriggled herself into a mane cocoon. The Power Ponies glanced between the villain, then confusingly at Rarity and her superhero counterpart, then at Spike in a cape.

"Uh…" Zapp said. "What happened?"

"We, um," Spike said, laughing awkwardly with a shrug, "saved the day?"



The Mane-iac's mane and tail had been braided and chained. Her body was wrapped in a straightjacket as the authorities tossed her into the back of the padded van that would take her to Balkham Asylum.

"This is all a big misunderstanding, I swear!" she protested. "I'm innocent! A victim of circumstance!" She spotted Rarity, who was watching from a few feet away. "Rarity! Rarity dear, tell them! Tell them!"

Giving her a stern look, Rarity said. "Sorry, Dee." She crossed her forelegs. "I did warn you."

The Mane-iac stared at her, looking hurt as the doors were shut on her. Rarity hung her head in sadness, muttering, "Goodbye, my friend."

She turned around and walked into an alley where Spike and the other Power Ponies were gathered. Saddle Rager had reverted back to her original form.

"Alright," Rarity said, planting her hooves firmly on the ground. "Now that we're somewhere out of hearing," she turned to the Radiance imposter, "can some pony please explain to me who that," she pointed, "is!"

The doppelganger grinned awkwardly. "S-Sorry for the deception, Rarity."

Radiance pressed down on her golden necklace and her appearance altered. Rarity gasped when her double was revealed to be Coco with a metallic device strapped across her chest.

"B-B-But…" Rarity stammered. "How?!"

"It was my idea," Spike said, proudly pointing to the device on Coco's chest. "See, before we had all of you girls for backup, the Matter-Horn had a hard time balancing crime fighting with her business life as Twilight Sparkle. So, if Twilight ever had to be someplace the same time as the Matter-Horn…"

He pressed a button on the device and Coco instantly changed into Twilight Sparkle in a blue gown.

"Usually I would be the one wearing it," Spike said, pressing the button to change Coco back, "but we needed a way to get Coco in without an invitation."

"I get it," Mare-velous said. "You knew the Mane-iac wouldn't strike until she was sure Twilight Sparkle would get caught in her trap."

"But we hid under the table before she could release her spray," Coco said. "Thanks for the tip, Rarity."

"This also will make ponies believe that I'm not Radiance," Rarity said. "Still, why did you feel it necessary to impersonate me?"

Coco showed her the bracelets. "These were the only things we had against the Mane-iac, and ponies were sure to ask questions if some other pony was going around with your bracelets."

"But how'd you two know hosing the Mane-iac down would put her mane out of commission?" Zapp asked.

"Easy," Spike said. "The computer showed that her mane was heavily shampooed. We figured if we just washed the shampoo out…"

"Her mane would fall flat!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Not to mention that her mane was started up by an electrical charge, and water doesn't mix well with electricity."

"Oh, that's brilliant!"

"Yeah, Spike!" Fili-Second said, zipping to his side to put her hoof around him. "Who knew you could be such a hero?"

"It was certainly brave of you," the Matter-Horn said, looking at him sternly, "but also risky. You could've gotten hurt, Spike."

"I know," Spike said, looking down at his boots. "I know it was dangerous. But I couldn't just sit around while you girls were in trouble." He faced the Matter-Horn. "You're my family, Twilight. And the rest of you, I couldn't leave you hanging either."

"Me neither," Coco said, looking at Rarity. "Not after all those times you had looked out for me."

"And me," Saddle Rager said, glancing at Mare-velous and Zapp. "If…if Spike hadn't convinced me, I…I don't know if I would've…"

Smiling, Mare-velous pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for comin', Sugar Cube."

"Yeah," Zapp said, wrapping her hooves around them both. "We knew you had it in ya."

"What do you think, Saddle Rager?" the Matter-Horn said. "Does this mean you'd reconsider our offer?"

Saddle Rager glanced around at all her friends and grinned. "If it means helping you all again, I'll do it."

She squeaked as Mare-velous and Zapp squeezed her harder. It became even more difficult to breathe when Fili-Second joined the embrace.

"Does that mean I can be a part of the team too?" Spike asked, clasping his claws together eagerly.

The Matter-Horn giggled. "You've always been a part of the team, Spike. But…if you want to be a part of the action," she said, pulling him close, "you've shown that you're more than capable of handling it."

"Hey, what about Coco?" Fili-Second asked, pulling out of the hug so Saddle Rager could breathe.

"Yes, yes!" Rarity said, taking her roommate's hooves. "Darling, you were positively heroic today! You simply must join us!"

Coco hung her head. "Rarity, I…I'm glad that I was able to help, but…" Sighing, she took off the bracelets. "Being a hero is your thing, not mine." She handed them to Rarity. "You were the one who found these, you're the one who should use them. But," she smiled softly, "if you ever need some pony to fill in your shoes…" She pressed the button on the holo-matic to transform herself into Radiance. "You know where to find me."

The Matter-Horn chuckled. "That'll certainly be useful to know."

"Hey, Power Ponies!" Chief Spitfire called.

Rarity quickly handed the bracelets back to "Radiance" as the Power Ponies turned their attention to the chief.

"Great job today," the chief said, looking between Saddle Rager and Spike. "Especially you newbies." She pointed over her shoulder. "The press is gonna wanna know the details of tonight. Want me to shoo them away for ya?"

The Matter-Horn glanced at her teammates and smiled. "No, officer, we'd be happy to answer any questions the press has."

As the Power Ponies followed the chief, Rarity gestured to Spike and said, "Come on, Humdrum."

He growled. "Okay, if I'm gonna be a part of this team now, I'm gonna need a cooler name than that! How about…?" He stuck out his claws. "Captain Claws!"

The mares laughed.

"No? How about the Daring Dragon? Super Scales? Mega Lizard? The Great Garbunkel? Come on! Anything but Humdrum!"



Back at the Maretropolis Museum, the statue of Discord stood still in the dark. Had any pony been there to witness it, they would have seen the small dark light pulsing in his chest, right where his heart would be. They would have also seen the light grow to a point where it was pulsing hard enough to make a teeny tiny crack.

And they would've heard the brief, low chuckle echoing from the statue's open mouth.