Blinded by the light Wyatt blinked hard, squeezing tears from the corner of his eyes. Trying to raise a hand to wipe at them, he met resistance and a faint clunking sound, something preventing it from reaching his face.
“What the everlovin’ hell..?”
-----
“What do you mean gone?” Twilight was standing in the doorway, peering around the room suspiciously.
“Calliope reported a bright flash of light, then all communications were lost. We cannot pick up any signal from his commlink. There were three ponies with him, they seemed to have gone wherever he has, or so we assume.” Crusader was eyeing the floor while Athena kept Pinkie from rushing around the room and messing up evidence.
Twilight looked at the floor, not seeing anything, “How can you even tell?”
Athena smiled, “Imprints in the carpet, different depths and sizes tell us three different ponies, and only one person in Equestria walks on two legs with boot soles.” She pointed out the various imprints that were so very obvious to them both in the thick carpet, seeing Twilights’ face screwed up in concentration trying to see them as well.
Athena nudged her, “Don’t hurt yourself.”
This got her a glare, and a giggle from Rainbow and Pinkie.
Crusader’s voice got their attention, “Two books were dropped, they do not appear to have been thrown, nor does there seem to be evidence of a fight.”
Everything in the room was perfect, except for the two comics lying on the floor. Twilight gestured to one, getting a nod and lifting it with a slight push of magic.
“Huh. Never saw this one before.” Her eyes popped wide as she flipped to the back cover page, before squinting and seeing tiny writing there.
“Oh no. Nonono!”
“What?” Now she had both Bolos complete attention.
“This is one of those magic comic books!” She turned it around, showing the writing to them, “You say the spell and get pulled into the comic, you have to defeat the bad pony before you can leave.” She remembered their own adventure, “It shouldn’t take long..if they know what to do.”
“That,” Crusader deadpanned, “Is going to be a problem.”
“Why?” Twilight was puzzled, “It’s just an adventure, though it can get a little tough. Wyatts’ a soldier, he’ll be able ..to..” She watched their expressions getting grimmer, “What?”
“He has no translator, he cannot speak or read Equestrian.”
Lavender ears drooped to either side of the alicorns’ face, “Oh boy.”
-----
Though the chiming of voices came through clearly to his ears, whatever was covering his face was giving him fits.
Wyatt clanged a hand against it, seeing through a transparent band along his eyes the armor surrounding his hand.
“What the..okay..this is stupid.” He slapped the facemask once more and it popped open, giving him a cool breath of fresh air that he inhaled gratefully.
Tilting his gaze downward, he saw himself covered in what looked like battle armor, but it was different, bulky and feeling...powerful. It appeared to be made of some lightweight material that allowed him to move freely, as evidenced by the clenching of an armored fist in front of his face.
He reached upwards, trying to fit a finger between his head and helmet, tapping the commlink set above his ear and receiving no reply.
“Calliope?” Nothing but dead air greeted his voice, “Calliope? Wyatt to Bolos, come in.. Anyone reading me?” The result was the same, silence.
Crap. Crap and damnation. He was about to figure how to get this whole contraption off when raised voices caught his ear again. He recognized Equestrian when it was spoken, and the voices of ponies were always pleasant to listen to, making his eyes sweep around him in a practiced glance that took in everything.
Sky was standing next to him, covered in a tight black bodysuit, one hoof patting herself down as she looked a bit dazed, seeing various implements of some kind of trade hanging off her or stored in pockets. Bandoleers of odd items hung across her chest as she tried to figure out what was going on. A mask covered her face from forehead to nose tip, a pair of goggles were above her eyes, waiting to drop in place.
Fleur was off to the side, a costume snugging her contours tightly, looking like tiny scales making up the armor as she looked around with wide eyes at the scenery and herself. Confusion was the theme of the moment it seemed. A mask covered her face as well, both it and the costume reflecting bright colors off it in a shimmering aura.
Tropic was bouncing around like a filly on too much sugar. Her costume was..to say the least..the least of costumes. Her hips were hugged tightly with a pair of shorts that on a good day were barely decent. A break with her midsection showing, then a top that scarcely covered her front. Both glimmering gold in the waning sunlight, reflecting the beams from streetlights as they turned on.
Her face covered with a mask made of golden material that held her fluffy mane hair back so it looked even more piled up. Bracelets and bangles dangled along her legs, sparking and spitting with some sort of barely restrained force.
Wyatt ignored it for a moment, turning to check out where they were and seeing a cityscape that hadn’t been there before. Buildings towered into the skyline, not the brutal human type architecture of faceless front and stone, but like those of Canterlot, only a lot bigger. Streetlights turning on in the waning daylight showed them standing on the rooftop of a building that overlooked what appeared to be a crime scene. Uniformed ponies swarmed over it, looking for clues of questioning witnesses.
How the hell did we get here?
He remembered a flash of light, a nauseating sensation in the pit of his stomach and then...this.
Ugh. As if everything up to now wasn’t bad enough, he had to end up looking like a refugee from the looney bin.
Though he had to admit, as he clenched a fist in front of his face, feeling the power contained in it, it really was kinda cool.
---
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! We’re in the comic book!” Tropic was prancing in pure delight, her face had a smile that wouldn’t quit, “I’m Goldbeam! Look at me!” She posed hipshot with the scanty costume, looking like a bombshell.
Fleur was almost chuckling, “I can’t even see how that costume stays on.” She did admit, Tropic looked pretty good.
“It must have been one of those comics that put you in the adventure, I heard rumors about them, but I didn’t think they were true..or do..” She swept a hoof out, encompassing the scene, “Do all this!”
“Where are we?” Sky was trying to shake herself down, getting the belts and bandoliers to lay correctly across her body, “What’s going on?”
Tropic bounced over to her, “We’re in the comic book adventure, The Ulti-Mares! Isn’t this awesome?!”
Sky was looking nervous, “I...guess so?”
A golden leg wrapped itself around Sky’s shoulder, “Were superheroes! We fight crime and kick the bad ponies Cutie Marks right off them!”
“Tropic, settle down.” Fleur was looking at Wyatt who was taking in the scene below, he turned toward them and pointed downward, saying something totally unfamiliar to them. His language was very different from Equestrian, they only caught parts of words.
Fleur blinked, “What?”
He pointed again, saying something else.
“Oh, no.” Sky gasped, “He can’t understand us, they were using a translation ..thing.. for him.”
“Oh..that’s going to be a problem.” Tropic was looking thoughtful, “Don’t we have any spells between us to translate?”
Sky shrugged, looking at Fleur who did the same, returning the glance at Tropic who shook her head.
“How do we get out of here?” Sky was peering over the parapet of the roof, seeing the swarming officials below.
“I..I have no idea.” Fleur was stepping quietly beside her, “I just heard rumors of these books, no details.”
Sky pursed her lips, “So, who are we again?”
“Oh!” Tropic bounced over, “We’re The Ulti-Mares! Super-ponies who fight crime!” She pointed at Fleur, “She’s Prism, Mistress of Light and Magic! Her armor is made out of pure light too!” Tropic pointed a gleaming hoof at herself, “I’m Goldbeam, I use powers stored in golden things that I create to outfight the bad ponies!” She pointed at Sky, “You’re Silver Gleam, super spy mare.”
“But..if we’re supposed to be ponies.. What about Wyatt?”
The human, hearing his name, turned to look at them, listening to the conversation, trying to understand.
“I..I don’t know. But he’s Anvil. Supposedly an Earth Pony who had no powers, so created a suit to give her the ability to fight crime. Super strength and almost invulnerable too!”
“Almost?”
Tropic shrugged, “Well, can’t be all-powerful can you? Wouldn’t be dramatic!”
Fleur tapped a hoof on the low brick wall surrounding the roof where they stood, “We need to find a way out. We have no idea what we’re supposed to do, or how to do it.” She saw Sky taking a few things out of her pouches, trying to figure them out, “We shouldn’t mess with things.”
Tropics’ jaw dropped, “You didn’t read the story?”
Fleur looked sheepish, “I didn’t have time..I.. Just got them and wanted to surprise you first so we could read it together.”
“Awwwww!” Tropic zoomed over to the armored mare, hugging her tight, “Best friends forever!”
Wyatt interrupted the friend-fest by pointing down again, “Look.” The only word he was able to articulate, though he botched the Equestrian inflection, they understood. Crowding over to the edge of the roof, they looked down on the crime scene.
“Wow, something bad happened there.” Sky was squinting when her goggles dropped down, making her squeak then realized her vision was very enhanced, giving her a really close view of the area.
“What.oh! I can see so much!” She frowned, “Looks like something busted through the wall of the bank. There’s sure a lot of damage.”
“Really?” Fleur leaned over, taking a closer look. Uniformed ponies were still everywhere.
“Wait..” Tropic was leaning over the edge, looking at the building across the street, “Ohmygosh! We’re in Maretropolis! Maybe we’ll meet the Power Ponies!” She squee’d and clapped her hooves, setting all the bangles and bracelets rattling.
Fleur and Sky turned slowly to give her deadpan looks, even Wyatt was staring.
“Really? We’re trapped in a comic book, with not a clue how to get out and you want to meet more super-powered ponies. Seriously?”
Tropic sat back and tapped the tips of her fore hooves together, a sheepish look on her burnished gold face, “Well...kinda?”
“Ugh, I cannot believe you!” Fleur was rolling her pale eyes. “Look, we’ve got to figure out a way home, maybe we have to do something, or..or rescue somepony?”
Sky was leaning over the edge looking downward, “Maybe we ought to start with all that?” Pointing to the busted building.
Tropic nodded, “It’s a good a place as any.” She shook a leg with loops and swirls of golden trinkets, “I can levitate!”
Fleur agreed, “Okay, I can as well, right?” Looking to Tropic who knew the characters as she nodded in return, “What about Sky and Wyatt?”
“Oh! Well, Gleam usually hitches a ride with one of us..I mean Prism and Gold, or she can swoop down like the super-spy she is, and Wyatt can jump!”
Sky blinked, “Jump? From up here?”
“Oh yeah! He’s got super-strength and stuff. He’ll be fine!” She waved a hoof airily, the bangles chiming gently.
Sky was peeking in the pockets and pouches, trying to find something to let her down the side of the building when she was picked up by Fleurs aura, “I got this.” The slim mare giving her a smile as they both floated off the roof , waiting for Tropic to activate her spell.
Tropic concentrated on on bangle, seeing it spark, then shimmer with power, the aura surrounding her and lifting her off the roof as well leaving Wyatt standing alone.
Sky made a motion with her hoof, “Jump! you’ll be fine!” She pointed to the street, then at Wyatt with an arcing movement.
Wyatt stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. or at least gone slightly insane.
---
Wyatt had absolutely no clue what they were talking about, catching words here and there, almost understanding the conversation. He contented himself with watching the action down below, pointing it out once and seeing the others look too.
Now they wanted to go down there it seemed, he saw magic bring them all in the air and then they turned to him.
Sky was motioning with her hoof in an arc, from the roof to the street. Pointing at Wyatt, then over the parapet, then the street.
Surely she wasn’t..yes..yes she was suggesting he jump off the roof.
---
Fleur’s voice was loud in the quiet of the rooftop, “Wait a second, I’m Mistress of Light AND Magic right?”
Tropic nodded along with Sky who agreed because Tropic did.
“Let me try...”
The slim, pretty mask covered muzzle lifted slightly, the aura around her horn brightened to a blinding actinic light. Power flowed through the slim body, her armor glowing with a multi-colored spectrum of colors that were pure, simple and glorious.
Her spell reached out, picking up the bulk of Wyatt and his armor like it was a feather. Lifting him easily off the roof, holding him tight in her magic.
She smiled, turning to see Tropic and Sky’s jaws almost hitting the floor, looking at their friend who shone almost like the sun itself, her armor appearing to be a bulwark upon which enemy magic would break and scatter to the winds. Her eyes glowed with a sheen of flickering opalescent colors that made her look magnificent in the evening moonlight.
“Let’s go!”
Tropic and Sky shook their heads, the golden mare whooping out loud and leaping for the edge, her own spell taking her gently towards the ground.
Fleur lifted Sky and Wyatt alongside her, floating with just the merest push of her powers to the edge, dropping down to land to softly on the street next to Tropic who was grinning from ear to ear.
“That was awesome!!!”
Fleur let the spell drop, blushing under her mask as Tropic, then Sky, gushed about how she’d looked.
“Stop that, it’s..it’s just a comic book story.”
Her golden friend bumped her with a scantily-clad hip, “If ya got it, flaunt it mare.”
“Oh shush.”
A uniformed stallion ran up to the group, out of breath so took a moment to catch it and speak normally.
“Ulti-Mares! Thank goodness and all that goes with it you’re here!” He eyed Wyatt standing there like a solid steel wall, before returning to looking at the group as a whole.
“Some unknown pony busted into the bank and cleaned it out! All the safe boxes, even the vault!” He pointed behind him to the hole in the wall, “The Power Ponies are busy with Mane-iac and her antics, and we could really use your help!”
Sky nudged Tropic, “Great, we’re the second string.” She giggled as Tropic just smiled, happy to be there at all.
The guard continued without a break, “I know you’re used to dealing with world spanning problems like that thing that almost destroyed all of Coltham last week. This is a little beneath you I’m sure, traveling the world to prevent disasters, but I’m glad you answered our call!”
Fleur raised one brow, having heard Sky’s comment and giving her a wink. The model mare knew only the bare outlines of the story, some big threat the Ulti-Mares were called in to deal with it.
“Oh, well, Chief,” Taking a chance he WAS the chief of guards, “It’s always our pleasure to help.” Her voice was warm, a sensuous smile never leaving the masked face as she fell into character like one of her movies. She had decided to play this for all it was worth, since they had to find a way out.
The big officer hemmed and hawed, feeling a bit hot under the collar as he looked at Prism, one of the most picturesque and lovely mares in super-ponydom.
“Yes, well, I..uhm..” He actually scuffed a hoof like a young colt on his first date, then brightened as an idea occurred, “Maybe you should check the scene of the crime? We’ll stay out of your way until you’re done, of course.”
“It would be our pleasure, Chief.” Her voice was low and throaty, playing her part and having a wonderful time. The group walked past the watching officers who were slightly averting their eyes when Tropic bounced on by flirtatiously waving to them,
Or course after she had passed, those same eyes watched the swaying shorts-clad backside, tail swishing happily as it walked away.
Sky got professional nods, from one pro to another, knowing her to be the super-spy and mare of action beyond even the unknown agencies. She was on a whole other level with her gear, gadgets and ability to out hoof-fight anything that got close.
Wyatt, however....
He hadn’t followed the conversation very well.. To tell the truth, not at all. But it seemed they were going in to check out what happened, so figured he would just follow along.
The first step he took was a thudding power-filled step that shook the nearby ponies almost off their hooves. The magic spells layered into the suit gave it a force multiplication of many times the wearers strength. Walking normally, even as Wyatt did, a heavy step would crack the concrete.
He stopped, looking around at the surprised guards, giving them a shrug and almost tip-toed into the building alongside the rest of the group. Sky was giggling up a storm, seeing the imprint of his boot left in the sidewalk and admonishing him for destroying city property. He didn’t understand, but got the gist of the joke, seeing everyone shaking their heads ruefully.
Flexing his hand, he realized he was in some sort of powered armor. Having used it before, he adjusted his motions to make them smaller, lighter, and less quick, to account for however it gave feedback to the power systems, or whatever made it move.
“Special Forces..eat your heart out..” He grinned and stepped through the hole in the bank wall, knocking bricks loose with a movement of his shoulder, which just rebounded off the suit leaving nary a mark but some fine dust.
An officer outside, sidled up to the chief who was still remembering talking to the world famous Prism.
“Chief, those ponies are scary.” He was young, looking with wide eyes at the forms disappearing into the bank.
“Only to the bad ponies, Law Book, only to the bad ponies.” He watched Wyatt knock a huge chunk out of the thick wall, ignoring it as it shattered against his armor and kept walking, “But I really wouldn’t want to be a bad pony right now.”
To be continued....