//------------------------------// // Chapter 41 The Master Plan // Story: Super Stallion // by PioneerofImagination //------------------------------// The Apple Family were hard working ponies and somewhat pillars of the community since their family was the reason Ponyville was founded. However 1 member of the family Applejack had gone missing and the others were looking for her. Big Mac searched the place he last saw her while Apple Bloom went into town and Granny Smith stayed at the farm in case she came back. "Any luck?" Granny asked. "Nope," Big Mac answered. "Ah don't like this 1 bit," Apple Bloom said, getting hysterical.  "Calm down now sweetheart," Granny Smith said as she walked over to Apple Bloom and patted her on the head. "We'll find Applejack, we just need to keep looking."  Suddenly Apple Bloom had a great idea. "I know, I'll see if Rainbow Dash can help. She's a Wonderbolt now she might be able to bring in the other Wonder-" "Hey!" Spitfire called out interrupting Apple Bloom as she was hovering a dozen or so feet above the Apples along with Soarin and Fleetfoot. "Have any of you seen Rainbow Crash, she was supposed to report for practice." "Never mind."  "We haven't seen her," Granny Smith answered.  "This was the last part of Ponyville we checked if she's not here where is she?" Fleetfoot asked. "If this is her idea of a joke it's not funny," Spitfire said. "First she gets herself on probation and now she does something like this." Suddenly Spike ran up to the others & got their attention. "Granny, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, Wonderbolts? Have any of you seen Rarity?" "Don't tell me she's missing too?" Granny Smith asked and Spike explained that like Rainbow and Applejack she was nowhere to be found. "3 missing mares, something is going on here and I don't like it," Soarin said. "Not 1 bit." "Eeyup," Big Mac added.  "We have to find her, we have a date." The others looked at Spike rather shocked at what they had just heard. "We do!"  The group went into town looking for the missing ponies but they were nowhere to be found. Spike and the Apple family went to see Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie but they were missing as well. "What the hay is going on?" Apple Bloom said. "This is getting serious, are there other missing ponies?" Hearing that Spike ran straight to the castle as fast as he could which impressed even the Wonderbolts as he kicked the doors open which surprised Twilight as Spike ran right over to her to hug her happy that she was still there. "Spike is something the matter?" Twilight asked as she tried to get him to let go a little after the hug lasted longer than she thought it should.  "Rarity is missing along with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack!" Spike answered as he let go. "Nopony has any clue where they are."  "Well let's hope Super Stallion knows how to find them," Twilight answered as she pressed her special bracelet but after a while figured she'd have to go to Canterlot to get his help. "I just hope Princess Celestia isn't in the mood to give out another death hug." "A what?" "I'll explain on the way, Spike." *** Squeaky Clean was spending time with his beautiful wife Princess Celestia who was starting to develop quite the belly. It made certain things difficult for her such as keeping her emotions in check especially when she got into an argument with her sister. She also found it rather difficult to get out of bed in the morning and make breakfast but Squeaky had taken care of that by making it for her. "Oh Celestia my sweet Celestia," Squeaky said as he kissed her neck and gently caressed her stomach. "Yes my wonderful Squeaky," Celestia replied as she was clearly enjoying the romantic gestures from her husband. "There's something about waking up with you right beside me that just makes me fall in love with you all over again." Squeaky then moved closer to Celestia and started to kiss her right on the lips who returned the kiss slowly but passionately and took hold of her husband as she rolled on top of him. Squeaky to Celestia's surprise took a bit of control and rolled Celestia so she would be the one with her back on the bed. "Oh my, is that your favorite position or something?"  "No, I was just a little scared you were going to crush me." Hearing that Celestia could help but laugh quite a bit before kissing Squeaky. Mere moment later there was a knock at the door which made the royal couple part lips and let go of each other.  "Come in," Princess Celestia said, trying to get out of bed and Squeaky helping her with that. Princess Luna then opened the door and walked over to her sister and brother-in-law with somewhat of a serious look on her face. "Please forgive the interruption of something I'm quite sure that you didn't want to be interrupted. But I have something quite important that I need to tell you." "Did Swift Sweep hit his head and get amnesia again?" "No Squeaky, it's that I recently found out that like you I'm-" "Princess Celestia! Prince Squeaky Clean! Oh and Princess Luna!" A guard interrupted Princess Luna as he ran into the room. "Princess Twilight and Spike have arrived with bad news," the guard continued and hearing this caught the attention of all 3 royal ponies.  "What's the matter?" Squeaky asked.  "The former bearers of the Elements of Harmony have vanished without a trace." Hearing that Celestia and Squeaky went to see Twilight while Luna went to inform her husband. "Twilight you poor dear," Celestia said almost in tears when she arrived at the throne room. "First your own student gets turned to stone and now your friends have vanished." Celestia ran over to Twilight who screamed in fear and ran off and Celestia gave chase after but it wasn't long until Celestia's legs got rather tired and she stopped.  "I'm doing okay Celestia really," Twilight said as she breathed a little heavy. "But we need to figure out what happened to all of my friends and if somepony is behind all this?" "And I may have an idea who the somepony behind all this might be," Squeaky whispered to himself. ***  "Well I must say," Payback said, getting the attention of all the other rogues. "The 1st part of my plan has been completed with flying colors." "It may have been your plan but Wacko and I were the ones that pulled this part of it off," Mad Alicorn said. "Though was it really necessary to take those 5?" Scar Flank asked. "After all the Elements of Harmony were used to free the Tree of Harmony, was it even worth it?" Scar Flank also asked, remembering hearing about the mess in Ponyville with the long black roots when he was still in prison. "Seeing how I got to take the magic of those 5 I'd say it was well worth it," Tirek said, happy to have become that much stronger. "Besides those 5 have helped Princess Twilight in the past with them gone, it's 1 or rather 5 less things for us to worry about," Payback answered.  "Speaking of Princess Twilight couldn’t those 2 have simply taken her as well? An alicorn's magic would have definitely made me and therefore the group much stronger?" Tirek asked. "No, she would have been a lot harder to capture than her friends," Payback answered. "Yeah not only could she match me but her chaos magic would have been hard for Wacko to deal with," Mad Alicorn answered. "But we'll get her soon enough as well as Super Stallion.” "And with him out of the way we can take over all of Equestria," Scar Flank said, liking the idea very much. "Who says we have to stop at just Equestria, there's a world to conquer," Payback said and Scar Flank liked that idea even more. "Plus there's not just this world," Mad Alicorn said. "I came from a whole new world entirely. When we take control of this one we can go and take over that one as well."  "Wow, taking over 2 worlds," Weather Warper said. "That's quite a lot to take over and when we do, who's going to stay where and rule over what?" "I'm staying in Equestria and rule on top of it like my family nearly did so long ago," Scar Flank said.  "Well then I'm going anywhere you're going Scar Flank," Weather Warper said. "Let's not count your chickens before they hatch. We still have quite a few ponies to take down," Payback said. "Next stop, the Crystal Empire."  ***  Spike was over at Rarity's boutique while she had not been missing for long; he greatly wished for her to come back soon. While at the boutique he found a necklace with a ruby in the shape of a heart in the center of it.  "Oh Rarity, please come back you mean so much to me," Spike said to himself as he grabbed the necklace and held it to his chest so that the ruby heart would be right next to his. A tear ran down one of Spike's eyes as he recalled the last time he was with the mare that he cared for so much.  *** Spike had just finished helping Rarity with a rather large order. "Oh Spike I can't thank you enough for your help with that dreadfully large order," Rarity said with utter gratitude.  "Anything for you Rarity," Spike said as he walked behind. Rarity then sat down and tried to rub her own neck as it was starting to irritate her. Seeing this Spike then put his claws on her neck and once again gently massaged her neck with his claws. Rarity then turned around and she got Spike to let go of her and she sat down once she faced her favorite dragon.  "Spike I should have told you this the last time you invited me over to the castle, I know what you're doing and while I do care for you, we're so different. I mean I'm a pony and you're a dragon plus there is kind of a big gag in our age Spike." "I know that," Spike said as he put his claw to Rarity's cheek. "I know we're different but look at Celestia and Luna the immortal princesses that married mortal stallions that were different but they didn't care because their love was that strong." "Yes but Spike, do you even know what love is?" "Yes I do," Spike answered to Rarity's surprise. "I know what it is everytime I look at you. When I first met you I fell in love, then I fell in love more as I’ve gotten to know you. You're generous, smart, organized, a bit of a drama queen but you have a lot to deal with at times and in the end that never truly outshines your caring nature. I know I'm still just a baby dragon but when ever I look to those eyes of your Rarity I know I'm in love." To Rarity's surprise Spike then started to lean in and press his lips forward and also to her surprise she started to lean in as well.  "Spike," Rarity whispered as their eyes nearly closed and their lips nearly touched. But Rarity placed her hoof on Spike's chest and pushed him a little. "No Spike, I'm afraid we can't do this." "Why not?" Spike asked, a little heart broken.  "It's a rule of mine, I never kiss on the 1st date so I'm not going to kiss before it." "Wait!? Are…are you saying that?" "I'm not promising anything Spike but I've decided that you at least deserve a chance, come pick me up tomorrow morning and don't keep me waiting."  "I won't! I'm gonna go get ready right now!" Spike then ran out the door to get ready for his date with Rarity, unaware of how long he'd have to wait. *** The Crystal Empire, a literal shining utopia with ponies there to match that was doing a good of adapting to the new world they were in. This was not one of those days as the rogues attacked and it didn't take long for them to take control.  Mad Alicorn brainwashed any crystal ponies that got in between the rogues on their way to the castle. Tirek stole the magic of nearly every member of the royal guard as well as the royals, even Flurry Heart.  This gave him enough power to grow back into his 3rd form which he enjoyed very much. "Yes, this power, this glorious power, how I've longed to see it returned," Tirek said. "With just a little more I'll obtain my next form." Tirek then turned his head to the other rogues. "Don't even think about it," Scar Flank said in a demanding tone. "Remember if it weren't for us you'd still be in Tartarus or did your father not teach you to show gratitude?"  "Don't talk about my father!" Tirek said angrily as he approached Scar Flank ready to throw him through a window.  "Knock it off all of you. We're not anywhere near done with my master plan so stick together for now and duke it out later," Payback said. Tirek then calmed down and walked off to the window and Payback walked over to join Mad Alicorn. "I do miss giving orders and getting others to do what I want." "And I've missed using my magic to force other ponies to do what I want," Mad Alicorn replied as she watched her army stop other crystal ponies from getting to the castle. "Yes, why do you not do that more often again?" Payback asked as they both saw a certain pony flying through the air. "That's why," Mad Alicorn answered. Super Stallion felt like he should go on his patrol earlier than usual to look for Twilight's missing friends and he was glad he did as he heard all the crystal ponies screaming for help from the Crystal Empire to help out. Mad Alicorn got the attention of the other rogues that Super Stallion was on his way. "What?" Weather Warper asked. "It's hardly even past 8, doesn't that guy have to eat breakfast or something first?" "Not to worry we made a plan in case he showed up earlier than we thought or rather hoped he would," Payback said. "Wacko, you know what to do."  "Wacko do what Wacko know to do!" Wacko then flew through the wall and rammed into Super Stallion before he could even do something about it. Super Stallion grabbed Wacko and threw him off then forced him into the ground but Wacko flew straight back up and rammed Super Stallion again.  "I can't believe you were able to do that twice," Super Stallion said to himself. "But you're going to regret that." Super Stallion then grabbed Wacko by the waist and flew to the ground, only when they were several feet from the ground did Super Stallion let go and the remaining momentum slammed Wacko back to the same spot he was slammed even harder than before.  "Wacko have big owie." "Yes that was the plan, I imagine even you are gonna need a minute to get up after tha-" Super Stallion was then cut off as Wacko flew up and hit Super Stallion dead in the chest with an energy beam from his mouth. Super Stallion was then knocked through several houses and hit the ground. "It looks like somepony has been getting in a lot of training the last time we fought."  "Yeah Wacko fight lots," Wacko answered, floating above Super Stallion and giving him a nasty pile driver making him scream in pain and he threw up in the air. "Wacko gonna win Wacko gonna win." Wacko then flew up and both he and Super Stallion hit each other with a mean right hook causing a shock wave. At first it seemed like it was a stalemate but Super Stallion was able to push his hook a little harder and make Wacko fall but this time he was able to fly before hitting the ground.  "If Wacko wants to win he's gonna have to try better than that!" "Wacko no need to win so he can win," Wacko replied to Super Stallion who was of course confused. "Did you learn to be cryptic while you were hiding away because that sounded weird even for you?"  "Wacko no have to beat you Wacko just have to fight you."  "So that way I can't stop the other rogues because I'm too busy fighting you," Super Stallion said, putting the pieces together. "Oh, maybe Wacko shouldn't have said that." Super Stallion then flew to the castle and Wacko tried to ram him again but he dodged and blasted Wacko when he passed him. That allowed him to get to the castle but there was no sign of the rogues. "Super Stallion," a crystal guard called out but barely as his magic was taken from him by Tirek. Super Stallion quickly flew over to him and tried to help him up. "The…the castle was attacked by a small group. Our magic was stolen from us by one and another used her magic to force others to do what she wanted. "Tirek and Mad Alicorn," Super Stallion said, quickly figuring it all out. "Where are they now?" "The one called Mad Alicorn, I'm assuming anyway that it was her because she was the only alicorn in her group, used her magic to open a portal and escape when they saw you coming."  "It's as I thought, wait here." Super Stallion then flew out the window to find Wacko and hopefully get more information out of him.  "I don't really have much of a choice here," the guard said. Super Stallion looked around for Wacko but like the other rogues was nowhere to be seen.  "He's gone." Super Stallion then saw there were crystal ponies still under Mad Alicorn's control and quickly undid her control.  "Somepony help!" A pony all the way in Canterlot cried out that Super Stallion heard perfectly and flew off.  *** After their business in the Crystal Empire the rogues wasted no time and did the same with Canterlot. Mad Alicorn brainwashed the royal guards while Tirek took the magic from a handful of guards that managed to avoid Mad Alicorn's brainwashing spell.  "That's enough magic for now, Tirek," Mad Alicorn said.  "Excuse me, you can literally see how much more powerful I have become," Tirek replied. "Exactly you're so big I can hardly make a portal large enough for you to fit through. So unless you want to get left behind when we make our next getaway you'll hold off for now." "Fine whatever," Tirek said with a huff. Before long the rogues made their way to the royal chambers where the princesses were about to be escorted out of the castle by royal guards but were cut off by brainwashed guards. The rogues showed up and turned the tables before they could do anything about it.  "Did you see how fast I was?" Weather Warper asked. "No I was too busy making sure the guards stayed off you," Scar Flank replied.  "Oh please, as if you'd be fast enough to do that." "Well clearly I am because you're still standing now aren't you?"  "If anypony is going to pull somepony's rump out of the fire it's going to be me." "If you 2 are done adding more to your romantic tension we have a master plan to complete," Payback said as he approached the sisters. "Luna, you have to get us out of here and now." "Me?!" "Well I can't fight, I'm pregnant!" "Uh yeah about that, Remember how there was something I wanted to tell you this morning?" *** Super Stallion arrived at the castle in Canterlot and like the Crystal Empire freed the ponies under Mad Alicorn's control but there was no sign of the royal pony sisters. They were taken to the Undiscovered West like the others. There Princess Celestia and Luna saw Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart trapped in magic bubbles being watched over by Wacko.  "Celestia? Luna?" Cadance said with not enough strength to stand.  "You drained them of their magic didn't you, Tirek?" "Yes Celestia and now I'm going to do the same to you and your sister." "No not yet Tirek," Payback ordered.  "What?"  "You take their magic now and Super Stallion will be able to see you from space so for now you'll have to wait but we still don't want them to try and escape. Wacko can you make 2 large magic bubbles?" "Wacko make bubbles good," Wacko answered as he made 2 bubbles right away.  "You can take their magic but for the time being you must store it in those bubbles." "But-" "No buts I've made a master plan to end master plans and I'm not going to let you ruin it because you have a bottomless hunger for magic. You'll get it soon enough but for now you'll take it out of them and put the bubbles, got it?!" "Fine, for now." Tirek answered after several seconds of silence then followed Payback's orders. "What about those 3?" Weather Warper asked. "Oh them, we can take care of them now," Mad Alicorn answered as she popped the bubbles containing them and then blasted all of them with the Slab of Stone making them all statues like she did to Starlight Glimmer, shocking the royal pony sisters. "Now it's your turn," Mad Alicorn said as she turned towards the royal pony sisters.  "What?! N-No you can't," Celestia pleaded. "Please we're with child." "Then you and your children can spend time with all the others here for the rest of eternity and see who can gather moss the fastest." Mad Alicorn then blasted them into stone. "3 targets left." ***  Super Stallion searched and searched for Princess Celestia and the others but had no luck. Determined not to give up he made his way to the Castle of Friendship. There he informed Twilight of what happened and hoped she and Spike could help him make a plan. "I knew it was only a matter of time before those trouble makers would be back but what are they up to?" Twilight asked when Super Stallion told her everything.  "I might know, I think they're trying to cut off his backup." "What do you mean Spike?" Twilight asked. "Super Stallion does a great job fighting all the bad guys but even he can't do everything on his own." "He's right, like the time you helped me out when the rogues took over the castle and captured me."  "I get what you mean Spike they are after Super Stallion but they want to take down all of those that could back him up. Meaning they'll most likely come after me before they go after you," Twilight said.  "Then come on Twilight we gotta get you out of here," Super Stallion said as he was about to pick her up but she backed up. "No, I think it would be best if I stay here." "What?" Super Stallion and Spike said at the exact same time and equally shocked at Twilight's comment.  "Hear me out." "NO!" Spike yelled as he tried to push Twilight out the door but Twilight teleported out of the way and back to where she originally was. Once she teleported back to where she was she lifted her foreleg, the one that she always had her special unbreakable bracelet. "Oh I get it. If you get taken as well then you use your bracelet and I can track down the rogues. But it's still risky." "Yeah Twilight," Spike said. "What if they knock you out after they take you away or worse?" "I'm afraid it's a risk we're just gonna have to take." "But Twilight-" Spike was cut off when Twilight put her hoof to Spike's mouth.  "I'll be fine, we've stopped those rogues before and we can do it again." "But of course a little help from the lord of chaos could help," Discord said as he appeared out of thin air.  "Discord, what are you doing here," Spike said. Discord then teleported next to Twilight and started to rub her head.  "I'm here to look over my chaos student but since you're here Super Stallion I can give you some interesting information. I've been keeping a rather watchful eye over 1 or 2-" "Twilight," Sunset Shimmer called out, interrupting Discord. "Sunset Shimmer what are you doing here? How were you able to get back to Equestria?" "I came here to tell you, but maybe we should talk in private." "Why?" "I may know why she wants to be alone with you and it's not for shipping reasons." Discord then dropped a giant anvil on Sunset Shimmer but she blocked it with a powerful barrier spell and in doing so turned into Mad Alicorn as making the barrier super strong distracted from her disguise. "Just as I thought it's not Sunset Shimmer, well it is but, you know what I mean." "How did you know it was me?" "I bluffed, that anvil was filled with water." Mad Alicorn then turned back and saw that the anvil was indeed an overgrown water balloon.  "Very clever but it still won't stop us." "Us?" Spike asked and suddenly the other rogues showed up. Weather Warper and Wacko flew up while Tirek forced his way through the door and Scar Flank and Payback teleported in. "Payback?!” Super Stallion said. “But how, you scrambled your brain?" "Let's just say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And she found a scepter that I used to escape the maze of my mind.”  “After I failed the first time, I just went back again and found him,” Mad Alicorn said. “We were able to put a plan together. He told me about 2 very useful artifacts. 1 of which need to be useful.” That’s why she ran off after just getting Starlight, Super Stallion thought. “And she in return gave me an artifact that helped me regain almost all of my memories as well," Payback said. Almost? Does that mean he doesn't remember I'm Squeaky Clean? "We were planning on grabbing you 3 1 at a time but I suppose taking all of you down right now will be just as good," Payback said.  "There are 4 of us," Spike said, ready to fight and protect Twilight if need be.  "He was talking to the others, nopony cares about an overgrown lizard like you," Scar Flank said.  "Oh yeah, say that to my face!"  "Get them!" Payback ordered and the rogues charged. Tirek uses his newly acquired vast power to force Discord to stand still in the air before he could use any chaos magic but Spike ran over to Tirek and set his tail on fire forcing him to let go.  "Meddlesome dragon!" Twilight then tried to blast Tirek back but it hardly bothered him. Super Stallion tried to help but he was fighting Mad Alicorn and Wacko. Weather Warper flew down and grabbed Spike and then threw him against the wall knocking him out. Twilight was helping Discord fight and they all dodged spells from Payback and Scar Flank. When suddenly Super Stallion was blasted in the back by a powerful chaos beam that slammed him into a wall.  "What the?" Super Stallion turned around and saw it was Payback holding a strange scepter. "I see you're still letting others do most of the work so you can work in your cheap shots." "Yes and this was quite the effective one. While I didn't get much chaos magic, the Scepter of Strength boosts the magical abilities of whoever holds it." Before Super Stallion could get up Wacko jumped on his back to keep him down and Mad Alicorn placed magic rings on his legs and neck.  "Keep it up, I can take it all day!" Tirek cried out as Twilight and Discord blasted him. "You always were a glutton for punishment Tirek," Discord said and was suddenly struck by lightning made by Weather Warper. Scar Flank teleported behind Twilight and put her in a hold while Tirek grabbed Discord. "These rogues have become quite the problem huh Super Stallion, some of them are anyway," Discord said and then suddenly his magic was drained away by Tirek who grabbed Twilight with his other hand and held her tight along with Discord. "Try to escape and I'll squeeze the life right out of both of you."  "When this is all over Twilight we'll need to go on vacation, maybe in Dodge Junction. Who knows, we might run into some familiar faces," Discord said. Super Stallion then broke free and forced Wacko off his back. He then flew around the room attacking all of the rogues except for Payback who instinctively put up a chaos magic barrier when Super Stallion got himself back up.  "Too little too late I'm afraid," Payback answered as he forced Super Stallion back by expanding the barrier that got so big it almost hit the other rogues. He was then attacked by Mad Alicorn and Wacko.  "Looks like we finally have the drop on you," Mad Alicorn said.  "You may have defeated all of us in the past but nopony is coming to help you out this time," Weather Warper said. "You see while we were hiding we developed a master plan and the teamwork to pull it off," Scar Flank said. "It was my plan," Payback said. "Before we went after you we captured all those that-" "Could provide backup, yeah Spike figured that out," Super Stallion interrupted. "And now that they've all been captured it's time for the final fight with me?" "No, not yet, tomorrow," Payback answered. "What?" "Time and time again you've ruined our plans so our grand defeat of you will be the grandest of defeats. You will meet us tomorrow and there we will not just fight you, we're going to pummel you into the dirt and only when you beg for it to end will you join the others and be forgotten," Payback explained. "We could finish you off now but I'm not taking the chance you'll figure out how to escape with those 2." "And what makes you think I won't bring an army with me?" "And who are you going to bring?" Mad Alicorn asked. "The Wonderbolts?" "I can out fly them any day," Weather Warper said.  "Royal guards?" she asked again. "More magic for me to steal," Tirek said.  "Or what about the royal sisters' new husbands? They may be royals now but they're still just useless janitors," Payback said. "Face it you're outmatched and you have nopony to help you. Let that sink in, realize that you don't have the smallest bit of hope and meet us tomorrow we'll be with Tirek who will be the size of a mountain, you can't miss him." "If you don't come say farewell to Princess Twilight," Tirek said and with that the rogues left via a portal that Mad Alicorn made. Not too long after that Spike woke up and Super Stallion explained what happened. "So they left just to beat you up later and do it once and for all? Sweet Celestia that is beyond cruel." Suddenly Super Stallion heard the signal from Twilight who took a while to reach her bracelet but managed to do it allowing Super Stallion to figure out she was in the Undiscovered West.  "So that's where they've been hiding all this time," Super Stallion said as he looked off where the sound was coming from. "Wait, if you know where they are you could sneak attack them!" Spike said as he quickly figured out what Super Stallion was doing. "Yes but that won't be enough to win. Half of them will be trouble enough for me to fight alone but I'll be fighting all of them." "Not if I come with you, yeah I know I'm not exactly Discord or Rainbow Dash but I gotta be better than nothing." "Discord," Super Stallion said as he remembered the weird things he said. "Spike, wait here, I'll be right back." "Wait you mean you're letting me, and you're gone," Spike said as Super Stallion flew all the way to Dodge Junction and landed getting the attention of pretty much the whole town including a group sitting by a nearby table.  "What are you 3 doing here?"  ***  "What a glorious day. Super Stallion's defeat is so close I can almost taste it," Payback said. "And it's all thanks to, heck even I can't take all the credit for this." "Good to know," Mad Alicorn said who was right next to them.  "Yes you've certainly pulled your weight on this, such as this great hiding spot. But it does beg the question, why didn't my sisters tell somepony about it when they turned themselves in?" Mad Alicorn leaned in close. "I put a spell on the others when they were sleeping so that they couldn't remember where we've been hiding in case they ran off like Prank Master or got captured." "Smart, very smart, I must admit," Payback said. "You're probably as good at manipulating others as I am. Perhaps when Super Stallion is defeated and this world is conquered I help you conquer the world that you came from." Suddenly Super Stallion came down right on Payback hitting him on the head with his elbow. "Huh I thought that would have knocked you out I guess I held back too much because I didn't want to completely squash your head, no matter how tempting that is." "How in the world were you able to find us?" Mad Alicorn asked as she healed Payback right away.  "Oh a superhero has his ways." "Fine we'll beat it out of you," Payback said as the rogues got together and Tirek absorbed all the alicorn magic including Twilight's making him a giant once again and better at fighting Super Stallion.  "Don't bet on it this time you're gonna take a beating," Spike said as he got off Super Stallion and put up his dukes. "I was almost certain you'd come alone but I guess we forgot 1 friend," Payback said.  "Don't underestimate me!" Spike said ready to charge but Super Stallion stopped him.  "Yes you got quite a lot of my friends, but you didn't get my enemies." Suddenly a small group attacked the rogues. Prank Master threw a pie in Mad Alicorn's face while Brush Stroke threw several spheres at Payback making him emotionally confused and Pony Ivy grabbed Weather Warper and Scar Flank with large plant and tree roots. "I like this place," Pony Ivy said. Spike even got in the action as he shot fire at Wacko while it didn't hurt it did distract him. With the other rogues, Super Stallion flew right up to Tirek and gave him the meanest uppercut he could give him. "How were you able to get those ponies here, weren't they locked up?" Tirek asked as he remembered the stories of the former rogues in-between training.  "I convinced Prince Squeaky Clean to write a letter approving their temporary release to give me a little back up," Super Stallion answered. I may still be a janitor but being a prince does have its advantages. "You rogues may have gotten in some wins by banding together but despite all your ponynapping, I still found a band of my own so to speak. Now we can have an all out brawl but this time, it's winner take all." Super Stallion then continued to attack Tirek who despite his massive size and strength was too slow to counter attack.  "One of you get up here and help me!" Tirek ordered but the others were quite preoccupied. Wacko was about to fly up but a rope made out of magic wrapped around his chest. He could have flown up easily but what stopped him was seeing who was bidding him. "Prank Master! Have you come back to play a game Wacko loves games." Hearing that Prank Master got a rather brilliant idea. "Yeah that's what we'll do, let's play tag, come catch me!" Wacko then broke free and chased after Prank Master. "Super Stallion may have surprised all of us by bringing former rogues but he still won't be able to win," Mad Alicorn said. "Quite a bold and most likely true statement," Gentleman Thief said, appearing behind Mad Alicorn. "Perhaps you shall require further aid from another individual." "Who are you?"  "I am the Gentleman Thief and I wish to offer my services to you madam." "You do?"  "Don't listen to him," Payback called out who KO'd Brush Stroke with help from the scepter. "He was with us before you arrived. He stabbed me in the back and ran off." "You'd know all about that wouldn't you?" Mimicry turned around sitting in a tree with Inferno behind Payback. "Hello brother," Inferno said when Payback turned around then they jumped together and gave their brother a double face punch. "I've seen my errors and wish to stay on the side sure to obtain victory." "Tempting to get another comrade, but I can't take any chances." Mad Alicorn was about to blast Gentleman Thief with the Slab of Stone but she couldn't find it. "How tragic so quickly to betray and so easily, but luckily I had already planned to beat you to it," Gentleman Thief said as pulled out the Slab of Stone that he grabbed from Mad Alicorn and blasted her, turning her into stone. "1 down 5 to go."  Meanwhile Weather Warper and Scar Flank were able to get free but Pony Ivy had them on the ropes as he had a lot to work with. "This isn't working at this rate, we're going to tire out before we can even get to him," Scar Flank said. "We need a plan." "Well then it's a good thing I already have one." "You do?" "Yeah," Weather Warper replied. "You hit him low and I'll hit him high." "Why do I even bother?" Scar Flank asked when suddenly Weather Warper took to the sky confusing Scar Flank and Pony Ivy only for her to come down and attack several times with lightning and fire which quickly spread or at least it would if Pony Ivy didn't stop the fire from spreading. "No! Not here at this place, there should be some places where nature should be left alone!" Pony Ivy used his powers to get the roots to put out the fire but this left him vulnerable which Scar Flank noticed. With nothing in his way Scar Flank hit him with a powerful spell knocking him out. "See, my plan worked." "So you actually can think of a good idea, and here I was thinking I'd have to do the thinking for the both of us." "Don't get too cocky you haven't won yet," former king Sombra said as he appeared along with Radiant Hope.  "Let's show them what a real duo can do shall we Sombra?" "Right behind you as always, Hope." Radiant Hope lunged at Weather Warper while Sombra blasted at Scar Flank. At 1 point their beams clashed and while Scar Flank held his ground he was eventually pushed back. Weather Warper tried to fly over and help him but Hope wouldn't let her get near him as she blasted spell after spell trying to hit her but she was too fast.  "You'll have to do better than that if you want to take me down. A lot better." "Oh well if that's all I have to then I'll get right on it." Weather Warper fired fireball after fireball at Hope who summoned a force field to stop them but Weather Warper broke through it by spinning and surrounding herself with lightning. Hope was barely able to dodge. Scar Flank who got pushed back, pushed Sombra back next as well as gave him several nasty hooks.  "We've worked too hard and too long for you all to come out of nowhere and help Super Stallion ruin everything!" Scar Flank said. "You failed to control the Crystal Empire but we're gonna take over everything." "I may have found my redemption but I still have my dark side," Sombra replied as he surrounded himself with a black aura. Sombra then used his dark magic on Scar Flank's horn preventing him from using magic. Weather Warper saw Scar Flank was in danger and tried to help but Hope caught her in a magical aura and they both got knocked out with powerful spells.  Spike and another reformed rogue got all the prisoners together so Gentleman Thief could free them. Payback saw this and knew he had to stop them. So first he hit Inferno with a point blank spell knocking her out then when Mimicry tried to attack he used Inferno as a shield then hit Mimicry also at point blank range.  "How could you do this to your own family?" Mimicry asked as she was on the verge of passing out.  "Because I'm not going to let anything get in my way of getting everything that I've worked so hard to get. Even if it's you and Inferno." Hearing that Mimicry couldn't help but cry a little. "What could I have done to deserve a brother as cruel as you?" Mimicry asked before she passed out.  "Not exactly brother of the year are you?" Dr. Arachnid asked who stopped moving the statue ponies when he saw Payback's sisters needed back up. "Unfortunately I can relate."  "How many ponies did Super Stallion bring? Who are you and what's with the metal legs on your back? "I went by Dr. Arachnid for a while but now I prefer my old name Ruby Shores and I guess you can say I was the first leader of the rogues."  "Well whoever you are, you won't stop me either." "I beg to differ," Ruby then shot out a power taser that hit Payback dead on and knocked him out. He tried to summon a barrier but he wasn't able to and didn't understand why. "Looks like my theory is correct that scepter boosted your magic from what I saw but by using it too much it can tire out your magical energy. You wanted to win so badly it blinded you to how obvious it was you were going to lose, again I unfortunately relate." "Well it looks like the other rogues have been taken care of," Super Stallion said as he looked below. "You're the only 1 left to deal with Tirek."  "It's not over yet when I defeat you the others won't stand a chance," Tirek retorted. "Besides I've yet to see Wacko get defeated if he and I combine our powers you won't stand a chance." Suddenly Tirek was punched in the face by Wacko himself. Tirek was hit so hard he had to put his hand on the ground to stop himself from falling completely.  "Hi Super Stallion, how is it going?" Clover the Clever asked using her magic to lift herself up to where Super Stallion was. "Clover? Was that Wacko, why is he helping me?" "Well you see when you got Squeaky Clean to help you get the former rogues together to help you I felt bad that I left Wacko behind because he isn't really bad he was just being manipulated. So I explained to him that what he thought was good was bad and told him by helping you he could actually do good."  "And when he didn’t understand that, what did you do next?" "I said I'd give him a bag of candy if he punched Tirek." Suddenly Tirek got back up and tried to blast Wacko and Super Stallion who grabbed Clover and him then got both of them out of the way. "Super Stallion save Wacko and Prank Master," Wacko said surprised. "Super Stallion good and real good."  "Now I have to deal with 2 superheroes? Well I guess I'm going to need a boost." Tirek then took the magic from those on the ground, even those on his side and took their magic, even Mad Alicorn somehow. "Like you said Super Stallion, winner takes all." Tirek then launched a giant beam that hit Super Stallion dead on and slammed him into the ground just outside the Undiscovered West.  "I think we may have a problem here Wacko," Clover said and suddenly her magic was taken by Tirek as well causing her to fall. Wacko was able to catch her and put her safely on the ground and then Tirek grabbed Wacko. "I imagine you have quite a lot of magic for me to take." "Prank Master right, Tirek bad, Tirek never play seek and hide and 1 time Tirek played Tirek stink at finding." "I wasn't even trying to find you at all you annoying little, oh what's the point you're just a worthless soon to be powerless bug." Tirek was about to take Wacko's magic but Super Stallion blasted him and made him let go. Super Stallion was then smacked down by Tirek and he was slammed into the ground again Tirek then tried to blast him again but Wacko flew in the way and used himself as a shield.  "Wacko!" Clover called out as she couldn't even stand.  "Wacko okay, Wacko think."  "Time to finish you off Super Stallion," Tirek said as he fired another blast at him and Wacko who both countered with beams of their own. At first it seemed even but Tirek's magic quickly pushed forward. "Yes this is it this is the day you finally fall. You almost had us all but in the end it wasn't enough, we've finally won." "Not as long as I'm still breathing!" "Wacko not give up either!" "Oh please spare me your blabber look at me look at how powerful I've become you can't stop me." "I think those 2 need a boost," Ruby said. "Super Stallion catch!" Ruby then tossed him the Scepter of Strength and he caught it. "Boosts the magical abilities of whoever holds it." Super Stallion shared the scepter with Wacko and they pushed their magic back and it hit Tirek so hard he was blasted off the Undiscovered West and all the way into the ocean. Wacko and Super Stallion flew to Tirek who swam back to land. "Looks like he's the one on the verge of defeat. Let's take him down together." "Wacko help Super Stallion." Wacko and Super Stallion then joined one of their forelegs together ready to pummel Tirek who looked up after hearing them talk. "Uh no."  *** After Tirek's defeat and Super Stallion's trip to the Tree of Harmony to borrow its power to force Tirek to relinquish his stolen magic, the ponies and Discord turned to stone were freed from their prison by reversing the Slab of Stone's magic. Those who were freed were told everything. "Well I must say this has been quite the adventure, much more for some than it was for others," Ruby said as he looked at Super Stallion. "So I take it, you figured out my hints?" Discord asked while stretching after getting out of yet another stone prison.  "Yes I found Hope, Sombra, and Gentleman Thief and put the pieces together. I can't believe I'm saying this but I really owe you one." "Yes you do, rather utterly hilarious don't you think? And the most hilarious part of all is I may not even call it in. Because I just love saying Super Stallion owes me a favor." "Can Wacko get candy now?"  "So what is this guy's story exactly?" Ruby asked as he looked at Wacko. "Wacko here was made when we tried to make another Super Stallion," Clover answered, which got Ruby's attention right away.  "What? His power can be duplicated. How does it work? Tell me everything about the process!" Ruby asked, getting right in Clover's muzzle. "Pickle?" Clover asked.  "Well I think it's time we all got back to where we came from," Luna said. "That includes taking the rogues and the former rogues. But I have a feeling you'll all be getting a parole hearing very soon." "That reminds me, how were you able to get all of us for this Super Stallion?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Well…when I explained to Prince Squeaky Clean that I had a plan to free all those who were taken he couldn't write the decree fast enough. He knew it was risky but as a prince he knew he had to protect ponies in Equestria plus Princess Celestia was taken and he would do anything for her.” "Makes sense, I would do anything for Squeaky too. Speaking of which Super Stallion could you take me back to Canterlot I want to see him again as soon as possible." "Sure thing." Super Stallion then picked up Princess Celestia. "Discord would you mind-" "Yeah yeah just let me finish stretching." "Yeah, let's go home. I still need to find a pie Rainbow Dash likes!" *** "My my, you've certainly been through a lot lately," Princess Celestia said to Squeaky as they were in bed together. It had been several days since the rogues were defeated and they had become inseparable. "Yeah it was really intense for a while but now all the rogues are finally locked up. Well the none redeemed ones anyway. Hopefully things will settle down for quite a while." "I imagine they will," Celestia said as she rolled on top of her husband and started to kiss him. "Afraid I'll crush you?" "I'll take my chances." The prince and princess then locked lips and embraced each other but then suddenly there was a knock at the door.  "Sister, I have to talk to you right now!" Luna said almost out of breath. "NOT NOW LUNA!" "Please, it's important!" "UNLESS IT INVOLVES STAR SWIRL COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD IT CAN WAIT A WHILE!" "Well actually."