//------------------------------// // Power Ponies and Chicken Coop, (Deleted Scene) // Story: Comet The Colt of Steel // by Stallion of Steel //------------------------------// After washing our hooves and or claws thoroughly the four of us sat down for lunch. While Applejack and Twilight prepared a plate of hay and daisy sandwiches, Spike munched on a pouch of gems while reading a comic book he'd brought with him. The Power Ponies, the cover showed six ponies in bright colorful costumes standing on top of a tall building overlooking a city. Now I personally am not a fan of comics. It's not that I hate them or anything, I know plenty of colts and fillies at school who read them. I've even caught Ms. Cheerilee on more than one occasion with my X-ray vision during recess. No there are two reasons I don't read comics. The first is that is because the ones I have read featured characters I just couldn't relate to. The super ponies in those comics were always catching the bad guys and saving the day. They never had to fear being ostracized for being different or worry about what other ponies would think of them. They were always loved and admonished by everypony. And the second reason is their depictions of extraterrestrials. Almost all of them were sinister invaders bent on conquering Equestria. I know it's fiction and therefore not real, but knowing what I know about my parents and myself only made reading about them reinforce my belief that it was best to keep my secret in the family. "Whatcha reading there Spike?" Applejack asked as trotted over carrying a plate of sandwiches. "Just the newest issue of Power Ponies," He said not taking his eyes off the page. "Spike," Twilight scolded, "what have we talked about regarding eye contact when talking?" The little dragon huffed in annoyance and set the book down. "It's rude to look away when talking to somepony." He said reciting a lecture he'd probably heard many times before. "That's right," Twilight smiled as she took a seat at the table next to him. "Maybe Apple Comet would like to look at that with you?" "Oh that's okay Twilight," I blushed trying to keep myself together. "I don't read comics all that much." "He ain't exactly one for make-believe stories Twi," Applejack explained to Twilight. "Nah he's more into astrology ain't ya li'l brother." "It's astronomy," I corrected her. "Pssh, astronomy, astrology, tomato, tomahto," My sister dismissed with a wave of her hoof. "Hey that's right, Twilight suddenly recalled. "I remember you telling me all about Comets the other day." What she said next nearly made me choke on my sandwich. "Did you see the one that appeared yesterday?" I swallowed hard, forcing the lump of partially chewed bread and flowers down my throat. "Are you alright?" Twilight asked with concern. "For a moment you looked like you choking." "Yeah...I'm...fine," I said between slow deep breaths. "And no I didn't, I left my telescope at home yesterday." "Pfff, are you serious?" Spike asked cutting through my excuse like a paring knife through an apple's skin. "You forgot your telescope? It was the middle of the afternoon, you could see it with the naked eye. You must need glasses or something." "Alright, Spike that's enough," Twilight said sternly as she lifted the comic book from his claws. "Aw c' mon I was just joking," Spike whined as Twilight set the book next to her. "You can have it back as soon as you apologize to Apple Comet and finish helping him with his chores." The young drake grumbled in frustration, "*sigh* Sorry Apple Comet." "That's okay Spike," I said, "Uh as long as you're not reading this, could I just take a look at it?" "Yeah knock yourself out." he sighed. "Thanks," I don't what exactly drew me to it. Maybe it was curiosity wanting to learn more about a new friend by what they read. Maybe I just wanted to see what it was that excited him. Or maybe after an eventful couple of days, I was just looking for some good old mindless escapism. The Power Ponies turned out to be kind of what I was expecting. I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly likable. The dialogue mostly consisted of bad puns and shoehorned catchphrases. Whoever wrote it had no idea what it was like living with superpowers. And I really couldn't hold that against them. After all, as far as they knew superheroes were just works of fiction meant to entertain foals. I'd like to say the rest of the afternoon passed without incident, and that I was able to go to the library with Twilight. But unfortunately, that is not what ended up happening. As soon as lunch was finished and the kitchen had been cleaned up, everypony went outside to finish their separate tasks. "So what did you think of the Power Ponies?" Spike asked me as we walked over to the chicken coop. Spike carried a pair of baskets for the eggs while I had a bag of feed slung across my back. "It was okay, I guess," I admitted. "Okay?" The purple dragon stared at me in disbelief. "Just okay?" "Well, it's like Applejack said, I'm not much of a comic reader." "Man you don't know what you're missing," He said. 'Oh I think I do,' I thought as I opened the latch to the pen's gate. "Okay just like last time, I'll spread the feed, and call them out. While they're pecking around, you head inside and gather up the eggs, Got it?" "Got it, Spike nodded. "Here chick, chick, chick, here chick, chick, chick," I called out as I reached into my sack and tossed a hooful of feed onto the ground. Like a stampede of tiny ostriches, the chickens came pouring out. "Here chick, chick, chick, chick, here chick, chick, chick, chick." I nodded to Spike signaling the coast was clear. The drake nodded in reply and rushed inside. "BRAAAP!" A moment later there was a flash of green light from inside the coop. "What the?" I peered through the walls to find Spike holding a letter desperately trying to stomp out the burning remains of a hen's nest. "Oh no!" Dropping the sack, I rushed over and grabbed the chicken's water feeder in my mouth. Then as fast as I could without going full speed, I charged in and dumped the contents of the feeder on the fire. A cloud of smoke rose from the remains of the nest. Fortunately, it had been one of the empty ones. Spike smiled awkwardly at me, holding a rolled-up scroll in one claw. "Uhh...I can explain."