//------------------------------// // The Announcement // Story: It's Hero Time // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// Gallus was sitting down on the carpet floor in his dorm room just staring up at the ceiling, listening to soft music from the record player in the room, doing nothing but that. He heard the click of the doorknob and looked up. There, he saw his friend and roommate, Sandbar. He walked inside and looked down at his roommate. “What are you doing?” “Nothing,” the griffon sighed. “I’m just feeling bored.” “I can see that. Don’t you have any new books to read?” “Any ones I have interest in have already been checked out. Plus, I’ve only got one record to listen to.” “Maybe we could go buy another one. Probably a different kind of music.” “Yeah, sure. Might as well do something,” he said, while getting up. The green earth pony and a blue griffon walked out of their dorm, closed the door, and walked down the hall. Before the two could get to the exit, however, they could see the students crowding around the bulletin board. Feeling curious and eager, Sandbar and Gallus then headed towards the crowd. “What’s going on this time?” Sandbar asked. “Check this out,” Gleaming Pearl said. There was a flyer on the board. Sandbar read what it said. Super Contest If you ever wanted to be a hero, now’s your chance to do it. Create your own superhero. He/She can have whatever power he/she wants. When you’re finished creating your hero, bring it to the lounge and leave it in the tray with a cape emblem on it. Good luck and have fun. “This sounds fun,” Sandbar said. “You only say that because you read the Power Ponies comics,” Gallus spoke. “Are they a good series?” Kelpie asked. “Oh, yes it is,” Sandbar responded with excitement. “Now you’ve done it,” Gallus sighed. As Sandbar explained the Power Ponies to Kelpie, Yona walked up beside the griffon. “What griffon think of a contest?” she asked. “It’s either really clever or geeky,” Gallus admitted. “I think it’s kind of fun,” Emerald admitted. She and Peridot walked over to them. “What else does this say?” Peridot asked. Looking at the board, there were a couple of rules. Mandatory Rules: Provide a bio to help explain your character’s powers and background. Try your best to be original. Nobody likes to be a copycat. Try to keep your character balanced. No Mary Sues. An example of something to avoid is: “My shield can block any attack yet I can fire my attacks through my shield.” Please, don’t be that guy. Optional Rules: Provide a drawing of your superhero. Provide a story to help show your character. The recommended kind of story is an origin story. “Seems simple enough,” Emerald commented. The students then heard some panting and fluttering wings along with some stomping. Frida came around the corner with a changeling. This changeling had a horn, pink chitin, purple eyes and carapace, a blue mane, and red wings. “Is there still time for me?” the changeling asked. “There no sign-ups,” Frida commented. “Students just put heroes in tray at lounge.” “Hey,… Sulcus... Is it?” Grace asked. “Um, yeah,” the changeling replied. “Frida told me about this contest, so I thought I’d join in.” “You’re interested in this?” Gallus asked. “Well, after Queen Chrysalis left the hive, my imagination’s been kicked into high gear.” “It’s true,” Moss confirmed. “Well, this will definitely be a fun activity for you,” Sandbar said. “You know,” Pearl said, “I think there’s a special thing you can do to help with this.” “There is?” Sulcus asked. Pearl led the changeling down the hall, leaving the rest of the students to check the rules. “Well, I’m going to get started,” Sandbar announced. He walked back to his room as Gallus and Yona decided to follow. “Friends borrow art supplies from Silver?” Yona asked. “Probably,” Gallus shrugged. “She did expressionism art in the cave last year, so I guess we’ll try to….” However, to the trio’s surprise, a couple of the students were there, asking Silverstream to borrow art supplies, but she was getting crowded by some students. “Hey, guys!” Silverstream called. “A little help? Please.” Yona managed to push the students away from her friend in order to give her some space. “Hold on! Stop!” The students stepped back a bit. “Couldn’t you guys just ask Headmare Starlight for some supplies?” Gallus questioned. Many students felt a little guilty about going after Silverstream. “To be fair,” Pate said, “She does make some nice art.” “Sure.” Time started passing and several students got to work on their own superheroes. It took longer than they thought, a few days for a couple of them. Eventually, everyone who wanted in with the contest eventually turned in all of their heroes. After that, things calmed down until... There was an announcement over the school’s P.A. system. “Would all the students who made their superhero and placed in the tray like requested, please go to the lounge as soon as possible. Thank you,” Starlight Glimmer announced. A little surprised, some of the students walked towards the lounge. The chairs were all set up around in a circle. After a minute of waiting, nothing happened. “Okay, so do we leave now?” Gallus asked. Just then, a portal opened up from the ceiling as a hodgepodge of a creature landed, superhero style. “I AM HERE!” the creature announced. This was none other as Discord, who was wearing a blue uniform with a yellow cape. “Discord?” the students gasped. “I’m not sure if we should be surprised,” Emerald commented. “Don’t get used to it,” Discord said as he sat down. “Now, I’m glad you all decided to join in for a superhero contest.” “As long as this one stays under control,” Pyther said. “Right. Anyways, how this works is I’ll randomly pick one of you and you’ll explain which hero you’ve created. Understand?” The students nodded. “Yeah, it sounds pretty easy,” Pearl replied. “Good. Now, let’s begin.” Discord pulled on one of his horns like a lever and one of the chairs lit up with a yellow glow. The glow then hopped to the next chair. Then the next until it carried around in a circle. Eventually, the glow stopped on the chair that Sandbar was sitting on. “Oh. So I’m first,” Sandbar spoke. “Shocker,” Pyther muttered. “So, Sandbar,” Tanzanite said, “What’s your superhero?” Discord floated the papers to Sandbar, some of which were stapled together. The earth pony found one paper that had a drawing of a colt. The colt was a pegasus that had jet black fur, a snow-white mane, blood-red eyes, and what looked like a ghost for a cutie mark. Sandbar shows his creation to the rest of the students. “That’s cool,” Sulcus commented. “What’s his name?” “This is Shade Spirit,” Sandbar explained. “He’s half-ghost. It happened in a freak accident.” “I see. Tell us more.” And so, Sandbar did.