//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Power Ponies: Rise of the Red Phoenix 
// by FoxMcCloud7921 
//------------------------------//

Despite its name, Celestia’s School for Gifted Youth was not only for foals, but for older fillies and colts as well. The school was the largest in Maretropolis, mostly due to the fact that it had dorms of their own. Trot and Moon had lived there for a time when they were younger but, upon being given the choice, decided to live off campus. Now in their final year, the two were both exemplary experts of magic, having almost finished most of their advanced courses. Still, for either of them, there was nothing wrong with learning more material. 

“By the way,” Moon said as they made their way onto campus. “You’ve been hearing about that vigilante? Red Phoenix? 

“The one on the news?,” Trot said casually. “It’s a she?” 

“Well yeah, at least according to some witnesses. I heard she can be pretty brutal with her enemies. They get branded before the police scoop them up. It’s bad news if you end up in Balkham.” 

Trot frowned slightly. If that was true, then that would in effect change the public’s response to the Power Ponies. Sure, they’d won a few awards in their short lifetime but this vigilante running around freely would make others think that they were above the law. 

“Hey, you alright?” Moon asked.  

Trot blinked and saw that her friend was staring at her. “Oh yeah, sorry…it sounds pretty terrible.” 

“Well, they probably deserve it anyway,” Moon shrugged as they entered the school. “Well, I’ll see you at lunch time.” 

“See you then,” Trot said as she made her way to her first class. No doubt she’ll have to bring up this “Red Phoenix” the next time she and the others met up. 

  



Sunset Industries may have been one of the biggest corporations on the planet but it had a rival of its own: BlueCorp. BlueCorp may not have as much a grip in the multiple markets that Sunset had, but its popularity came from its bioengineering and pharmaceutical departments. Most of the medicine produced and sold in Maretropolis comes from BlueCorp. But Blueblood, the current CEO, had other things on his mind. 

The stallion was a proud pony, the kind of pony that belonged on almost every VIP list in all of Maretropolis. Sure he was a bit of a playcolt but what billionaires weren’t. He inherited the company a few years ago after his father’s unfortunate death. Despite the change in leadership, their stock has continued to grow and it’s among the most expensive all over the world. 

Normally on a day like this, Blueblood would be hanging out with his colleagues or playing some ball in his downtime but today it was all business. Dressed up appropriately, he was on his way to a very important meeting. 

His secretary had informed him that the two ponies were currently waiting in his office. Good, because they had to know that it was his building and he would make them wait as long as he wanted to. Then again, he had to be careful with government ponies. They could be slimy, much more than him at times. 

As he opened the door to his office, he put a big smile on his face. “Welcome Councilponies,” he said, addressing the mare and stallion. “Please, have a seat.” He walked over to his desk and sat in his very comfortable chair. “It’s good that you two could make it.” 

“Well, it’s hard to refuse an invitation from the CEO of BlueCorp,” the mare, an earth pony, said with a slight chuckle. 

“Oh, now you’re just trying to butter me up,” Blueblood said. “Anyway, to business. I think you two and I both know why we’re here but I’ll explain it anyway: the government has been rather hush hush about our little friend, you know, the one who almost destroyed Maretropolis a year ago. That demon…thing is dead thank Faust but again we haven’t heard anything about it. Now why is that?” 

“Considering how dangerous Tirek was, the Council thought it best to keep the body in lockdown,” the stallion councilpony, a unicorn said.  

Blueblood scoffed. “He’s dead, what more danger could he possess?” 

“Just what are you trying to ask?” the mare asked. 

Blueblood smiled. “Straight to the point my dear, I love it. It’s very simple: I want that body.” 

The two ponies stared at him in shock. “Excuse me?” the stallion asked. 

“You heard me clearly. BlueCorp has a very big interest as to whom and what Tirek is. Imagine what we could learn and gain from studying him!” 

“Mr. Blueblood, we understand your reasoning, but that body is government property,” the mare asked. “And besides, what can we do about it?” 

“The Council has say in many things,” Blueblood said as he used his magic to open up a drawer and pulled out a bottle of Scotch. “You can pull some strings in…letting go of that property.” He then got out a glass and poured himself a drink before grabbing it and taking a sip. “Surely that’s not too much to ask?” 

“I’m sensing blackmail is coming up in this discussion,” the stallion said coldly. 

“Perhaps, but that’s nothing new for you folks is it?” Blueblood took another sip and took a moment to savor the taste. “I’d like to get an answer from you by tomorrow. That should give you enough time to…sort things out? I’ll be waiting.” He finished his glass as he motioned with his free hoof that they could leave. The two ponies looked disturbed as they slowly exited the office. 

Blueblood put down his glass with a clear smirk on his face. Most ponies are naïve enough to believe it’s the government that’s in charge, but little do they know it’s the hundreds of corporations that pull all the strings. 

  



Marey wasted no time as she headed downtown towards the slums. It wasn’t her preferred choice but it was where she found her first witness. She made her way into the old apartment complex, taking the stairs up to the third floor and looking around until she found Room 37. 

She knocked on the door three times. There was no response. She knocked on the door again. “Mr. Solid? Detective Allen of the MPD, I wanted to speak to you for a moment.”  

That apparently got the stallion’s attention. “I think you have the wrong room ma’am,” he said through the door. “There aren’t any drugs or illegal weapons here.” 

Marey sighed slightly. Was everyone afraid of the police? “Sir, this isn’t an arrest, I just want to talk to you about an incident the other day. Does the name ‘Red Phoenix’ mean anything to you?” 

It was silent for a moment but Marey soon heard the sound of the door being unlocked and it was soon opened. She was now face to face with a young pegasus maybe a few years younger than her. “Did you say Red Phoenix?” he asked. 

“May I come in?” Marey asked. 

Solid hesitated for a moment. “Yeah…sure…” He opened the door and let her come in. The inside of his apartment wasn’t too trashed but it pretty much reflected the state of the entire complex. “You’re talking about that big gang fight right?” 

“Yeah, but I’d like to hear your part of the story,” Marey said as she sat down on the dusty sofa and got out her notebook. “Gang violence is a big problem around here right?” 

“Oh yeah,” Solid replied. “This complex has seen its share of battles, but thankfully I’m smart enough to keep my door locked at all times. Anyway, things got really ugly that night. First it started outside, but then it made its way in here. You’d think between a group of unicorns and a group of pegasi you could tell who’d win the fight easily right? Wrong, pegasi can play just as dirty at times. The griffins are the only ones worse than they are.” 

“So what happened then?” Marey asked. 

“Like I said, the big fight made its way all the way up here,” Solid continued. “I thought I was going to have a hole blown through my wall but then…she came.” 

“The Red Phoenix?” 

“Yeah… as soon as I heard both groups shouting I got curious and peeked outside my door. What I saw next was just plain amazing.” 

“Go on.” 

“This mare, I could tell she was a mare by her size but…she wasn’t one you wanted to mess with. She was a unicorn, I don’t remember if the police know that. Anyway, the way she moved was so…mesmerizing for lack of a better term. She put a beating on both sides. Sure, they tried to gang up on her but she was smart and she could teleport away at a moment’s notice. She wore all red and had a red mask…guess it was supposed to look like a phoenix judging by her name. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.” 

“So what did she do to those two groups?” Marey asked as she kept writing down her notes. 

“Oh, most of them went to the hospital with broken limbs but a few of them, I’m assuming they were the leaders of each side, they got it much worse.” 

“How so?” 

“She…” Solid had to take a moment. “She brought out a branding iron…heated that sucker up in a quick blaze and…she marked both of them in the chest. They screamed bloody murder for minutes and it terrified everypony here. She was gone soon after and that’s when I got a good look at the bodies.” His eyes seemed to widen more in fear. “It was the symbol of a phoenix…it was her call sign and…well if you end up in Balkham with one of those you’re as good as dead.” 

“I see…thank you for telling me this Mr. Solid,” Marey said as she got up. 

“Detective…are you guys going after her?” Solid asked. 

Marey knew she couldn’t give out any details so she decided to be as vague as possible. “We’re looking into an investigation that’s all.” 

“I see.” The pegasus leaned back in his chair. “She may sound like bad news to you guys, but I can promise you this: the guys she goes after are much worse. And honestly, I don’t think you guys will ever catch her. She’s too clever for that.” 

  



It was getting late in the evening as the sun began to lower past the horizon. It was at night that Maretropolis truly shined. It was also at night when the dark underside of the city would reveal itself. 

There was a group of five unicorns waiting near the shipyards for their new delivery of what they called “Pixie Dust.” Pixie Dust was exactly as it sounded like, it gave magic users a big boost in stamina and strength and as such the MPD was working hard to get it off the streets. The biggest downside of using such a drug was that it caused massive migraines once the effects wore off and has been known to cause major nose bleeding. 

“I don’t like this…I don’t like this one bit…” one of the younger colts said. “They’re late. We’re sitting ducks here.” 

“Will you shut the hell up?” the largest of the group snapped. “They’re not late. They still got five minutes.” 

“He’s just worried about that Red Phoenix chick,” another chuckled. 

“D-Don’t bring her up! You’ll jinx the whole operation!” the colt cried out. 

“Shut yer mouth already!” the leader snapped. “Who cares about her? I’ll snap her like a damn twig.” 

Suddenly there was the sound of something banging against one of the shipping containers nearby. “What the hell was that?”  

“It’s nothing, metal creaks and groans every once in awhile,” the leader growled. 

“Oh Faust, she’s here, we’re done for!” the colt yelped as he tried to run off. 

“Get back here you little shit!” The leader managed to pull the poor colt back with his magic. “Honestly, I’m ready to throw you in with the fishes if you don’t-!” 

Suddenly he went quiet as he heard something small hit the ground. He looked over as he saw a small round shape rolling in their direction. They all stared at it as it rolled to a stop and the leader realized too late what it was. “Oh sh-!” 

The flashbang suddenly went off, blinding and deafening the ponies at the same time. The leader barely had time to react as he felt something big slam into him, knocking him onto the ground. It was hard to hear, but he could hear his buddies crying out in pain as a figure moved around them with a quickness that was unlike anything he’d ever seen. 

His chest was heaving slightly as he tried to get up. The figure had its back towards him and he smirked with a slight grimace as he prepared an attack. However, just as he was about to strike, the figure suddenly teleported. He could only stare in surprise as a force suddenly fell on his back, causing him to cry out in pain. 

“So…still think you can bend me like a twig?” The leader was no coward, there were few things that scared him, but the voice he heard in his ear made his blood run cold. The voice was definitely female, but it was modified that it sounded more like a growl, like a manticore about to drive its fangs into his neck. The unicorn felt a hoof hit him against his head hard, which caused his face to smash into the concrete below him. “Pixie Dust huh…? You little pricks only feel confident when you shoot that shit up your muzzles. Sorry, there won’t be any deliveries tonight.” 

The Red Phoenix paused, realizing she had already knocked the unicorn out, along with probably some teeth as well. His loss. She looked over at the others, groaning in pain. It was the young colt that was looking at her, terrified, that caught her full attention. 

She stepped off the large pony and walked slowly towards the colt, who curled up in fear. “Please, I don’t want anymore trouble, I’ll do whatever you ask just don’t…don’t…” He was suddenly at a loss of words as the mare stared at him. 

“You’re still young,” she said, catching him by surprise. “You still have a future ahead of you. Don’t waste it on this. Now get out of here.” 

The colt was more than happy to oblige as he got to his feet and ran away as fast as he could. The mare turned around and looked at the remaining unconscious and semi-conscious ponies. “Now to deal with you four…” 



  

By the time the police showed up, they found four unicorns tied together with almost five kilos of Pixie Dust. It appeared that the leader didn’t make it through unscathed as he had a brand mark right next to his horn. One of the officers sighed. “Red Phoenix strikes again,” he said as he got out his cuffs. 

“If she keeps this up, we’re going to lose our jobs,” his partner said. 

The officer scowled. “It’s bad enough with the Power Ponies but this one resorts to extreme violence. Better call this one in then…” 

  



Just outside of Maretropolis, there was a large forested area that spanned miles and in the middle was a large mansion that acted as a winter home. It was quiet throughout the night; at least until there came the sound of an engine running as a large vehicle came through the clearing of trees. As it reached the house, a platform raised, revealing an underground path that the vehicle raced into. A large tunnel led into a large lair and as soon as the vehicle parked on a large circular pad, the door opened and the Red Phoenix came out. 

There was a large array of computers and television screens in this lair that showed the current news and what was going in not just Maretropolis but the entire world. The mare sat down in her chair before taking off her mask. Sunset Shimmer stared at the screens, sweat slightly rolling down her face. Around the desk she was sitting at, pictures of recent events were strewn, including pictures of the Power Ponies which always gave her a twinge of irritation. 

“Another successful evening Mistress Sunset?” Sunset glanced over at the small pony sitting at her desk. It wasn’t actually a real pony but a hologram, an AI she created that took the form of her old butler when she was a little filly. 

“You could say that ALF,” Sunset said quietly. “Pixie Dust users.” 

The AI seemed to scrunch his muzzle in disgust. “Ah, yes, it would seem that the MPD is still struggling to get it off the black market.” 

“As long as ponies continue to make it, the war will never end,” Sunset said. “Anything I missed while I was gone?” 

“You received an invitation for a party over at Blueblood’s mansion tomorrow night, though I suppose you already knew about it,” ALF said casually. 

“Send out the RSVP ALF,” Sunset said as she typed BlueCorp’s name into the database. The BlueCorp logo came up on the large screen. “I think it’s time Mr. Blueblood and I finally meet.”