//------------------------------// // After the Bombshell // Story: Stallion of Tomorrow // by Jade Dawn //------------------------------// A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Fanfiction Written by Jade Dawn Before he had even reached the runaway train, the news had begun to spread. By the time he had slowed it to a halt and set it down at the end of the track, everypony in the city knew it was true. Stories of a red and blue blur streaking through the skyline and excited accounts of witnesses to the rescue itself began coursing through the streets, to the ears of pedestrians, law enforcement, reporters, and so on. The news of Supermane’s sudden appearance and rescue of the LexCorp monorail had started and spread throughout Manehattan like a wildfire. And this wildfire had long since consumed the Daily Planet in its wake. By the time the group made their way back to the Daily Planet building, the newsroom had turned into a buzzing hive of movement and activity. Everypony was talking or shouting excitedly, phone lines were ringing nonstop, and radios and a few TV sets scattered around the room were blaring with sound and light. The hustle and bustle came to an abrupt halt as the elevator disgorged Lucky Lead and her companions; Quicksnap was utterly silent and his eyes were still wide in shock, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash were huddled around Fluttershy, now nursing her bloodied nose with some tissues. Dawning Hope was not with them. Almost as soon as the doors had opened, the crowed swarmed around Lucky as she strut into the newsroom, head held high and unable to keep the grin off her face as they bombarded her with praise, congratulations, and other responses. “Can’t believe you were right…” “Scoop of the century right here, Miss Lead! Congratulations!” “…so sorry, I thought you’d actually gone nuts…” And Lucky just kept up that smug grin as she calmly replied. “Course I was right, I know when I’m right…aw, gee, thanks…oh, don’t feel so bad, I’m not going to hold it against you…hey, Goal Post! You owe me a hundred bits and I expect to see it on my desk by next week!” She made a beeline through the crowd right to Whiteout’s office, the others trailing behind her as she threw open the door with enthusiastic glee. A radio on his desk was turned on, a reporter’s voice talking a mile a minute about Supermane while Whiteout listened in jaw-slacked silence. He looked up at them and shut the radio off as they entered, but before he could say anything, Lucky was already leaning over the desk into his face. “You heard, didn’t you? Oh, of course you did, who am I kidding? It’s all over town by now!” “Lucky–“ Lucky ignored him and kept rambling excitedly. “Didn’t I tell you I was on to something?! Didn’t I?! Well of course you knew, you wouldn’t have let it get printed otherwise…” “Lucky…” “And oh-ho-ho, they called me a crazy tabloid writer, they called you crazy for printing my stories, and yet here we are!” Suddenly she leapt from the table and rushed over to a nearby window, throwing it open and sticking her head out over the street far below. “YES EQUESTRIA, THERE IS A SUPERMANE!!!” Her jubilant shouting was cutoff when Whiteout pulled her back inside and shut the window. “Alright, alright, Lucky. I get it, you’re happy– “‘Happy’? Chief, I’m friggin’ ecstatic!” “And that’s great, but for goodness’ sake, calm down before you hurt yourself. Now what about our honored guests, are they alright?” He took on a look of concern when he saw Fluttershy. “Good grief, are you–“ “I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy replied. “J-just a bloodied nose, nothing really bad. I’ll be alright, really.” “We just got a little shaken up,” Rainbow added. “Nothing we can’t walk off. Besides…” She put a wing around Fluttershy’s side. “She’s got us to help her.” Whiteout nodded. “Alright, if you say so…” He turned to Quicksnap next, the concerned tone of voice immediately replaced with a stern one. “Quicksnap, tell me you got a picture of him.” Quicksnap nervously chuckled. “Yeah, uh…about that…” Whiteout groaned. “Great Caesar’s Ghost, boy, you have one job–“ “Now hold on just a minute, Mr. Whiteout,” Rarity interjected. “His camera went out when the power did and Supermane was moving far too fast for him to have gotten a good picture anyway.” “Yeah, c’mon, chief,” Lucky added. “Don’t come down so hard on him.” Whiteout sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll let this one slide. But listen, kid…” He stepped up to Quicksnap and glared intensely at him, the young hippogriff gulping nervously as he did. “You’re going to get me a picture of Supermane before this whole thing blows over," Whiteout said, his voice low and intense. "And I don’t mean a half-flanked pic of a red and blue blur, I’m talking about a bona fide photograph of this guy in full view. Get him to pose for you if you have to. You want a job here? Then consider this your first big assignment. Am I getting through to you, kid?” Quicksnap nodded. “Yes, Ch–I mean, sir. I-I got it. Won’t let you down, sir.” He gave a little salute. “Humph.” Whiteout snorted. “Now go on, get out of here, go make yourself useful somewhere.” “R-right, got it,” Quicksnap stammered as he went out the door, stopping to wave back to the three Bearers. “Uh, see you around, ladies, or, ma’ams, or…” he trailed off as he left. After he’d gone, Whiteout turned to the Lucky and the other three. “Alright then, so what’s the plan between you four right now?” “Not sure just yet, Chief,” Lucky answered. “We were kinda planning on talking it out when we got back from the Lexpo, but then that all went pear-shaped…” she looked at the trio. “Unless anypony here wants to start making plans?” “In all honesty, Miss Lead,” Rarity replied. “I think the three of us need a bit of a break after everything that’s just happened. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash more than myself…” “I mean,” Fluttershy murmured. “I wouldn’t want to slow things down or anything…” “No no, it’s fine, that’s fair,” Lucky said. “You lot take some time to decompress and then we’ll try again tomorrow. Besides, us newsponies are probably gonna be up to our ears for the rest of the day thanks to our friend in the big red cape.” “You can say that again,” Whiteout muttered as the group went out the door. The five ponies passed out of the office and back through the sea of desks, Lucky smiling as the occasional word of praise was thrown her way, while Whiteout reminded everypony to keep to what they were doing. They’d just gotten to the elevator doors at the far end when Dawning Hope suddenly stepped out, skidding to a halt right in front of them as he came out of the doors before them. His shirt collar and tie looking a bit disheveled and his glasses slid down his nose a bit, as if he’d been in a hurry to get back. “Oh, there you are!” Lucky chirped. “I was just starting to worry about where you’d gotten off to, you missed the whole thing!” “O-oh!” Dawning stammered, hurriedly adjusting his glasses. “L-listen, I’m so sorry I got separated, but I heard about what happened, I’m sorry, I couldn’t–I mean, I'm sorry about…oh geez, you’re bleeding…” He looked concernedly at Fluttershy. “It’s okay, it’s not bad,” Fluttershy assured him. “I’ll be alright, don’t worry.” “A-are you sure?” He asked as he looked her head up and down. “I’m…I’m really sorry I…” “Hey, don’t worry about it, Dawning,” Rainbow said. “She’s got us looking out for her.” “We’re all fine, Mr. Hope,” Rarity affirmed. “Nopony was seriously hurt, and Fluttershy is in good hooves. We were just heading back to the hotel to decompress for a bit, as it were.” “Oh,” Dawning replied. “A-alright then. Please, don’t let me hold you up.” He stepped aside to let them through into the elevator. “A gentlecolt as ever,” Rarity chuckled as the three went inside. “Um…” Dawning started. “Did you, uh…see him? Like, up close?” “Fluttershy and Rainbow did,” Rarity replied. “Mm-hmm,” Rainbow nodded. “Chased him over the city for a bit. Geez, he was fast.” “And, uh, what about you?” Dawning asked Fluttershy. “Did you…” “I saw him after he set the train down,” Fluttershy answered. “He…he looked pretty close to what everypony else was saying he looked like. But his hood was down, so I got a better look at his face…he had these big blue eyes, and, um…” “Didn’t look like anypony you’ve seen before?” “Can’t say he did, no.” “O-oh, I see.” He shook his head. “Anyway, sorry, I’m keeping you up, I’ll, uh, let you three go on your way…g-glad your alright, though!” he added as he waved goodbye. Fluttershy had just enough time to wave back at him before the doors shut and they disappeared. After they’d left he turned to Lucky and Whiteout. “So, uh, what’d I–“ “You two,” Whiteout said sternly. “My office. Now.” He turned and walked away without waiting for an answer, and the two quietly followed behind him, Dawning’s ears flattening as he walked. The elder stallion led them to his office and shut the door behind them, taking a seat at his desk, Dawning and Lucky standing before him. “Two things,” he began. “First of all, Lucky, when I partner you up with other ponies around here, I expect you to work together. That means you don’t go running off and leaving ponies behind for the chance at a scoop.” Lucky was about to respond when Dawning spoke up. “Sir, the fault is mine, really. Lucky didn’t–“ “And secondly,” Whiteout interrupted. “What exactly were you up to when the biggest story since Twilight Sparkle’s coronation flew right over our heads and bench pressed a whole train?” Dawning shuffled nervously. “Yeah, I-I’m sorry…after everything started up I sorta got lost in the shuffle and then…well, it all happened so fast…b-but I did make myself busy on the way back…” He set his saddlebags down and began to rummage through them while Whiteout and Lucky watched. “See…oh, wait, it’s in the other one…” Dawning muttered as he went from one saddlebag to the other and began rifling through that one. “See, on the way back, I, um…I stopped by the Department of Energy, talked to a few ponies and a couple managers there and…ah! Here we are.” He pulled out a notepad from the depths of his saddlebags. “Anyway, they’re saying…and you know, they’re still not a hundred percent sure what caused the blackout in the first place, but anyway, they’re saying that it started at, um, LexCorp.” Lucky blinked. “…you’re kidding.” “N-no, um…they’ve been comparing reports of when the blackout hit. It’s all in a matter of seconds, of course, but by comparing the times that power went out in each part of the city they were able to trace it in a, um…” he made a circular motion with a hoof. “…a sort of circumference going inward and, uh, LexCorp was in the center. S-so whatever happened, it started there, and…i-it’s all there if you want to look it over, sir.” Whiteout took the notes from Dawning’s hoof and looked them over quietly. “Dawning,” he finally said when he’d finished. “Do you know what this means?” Dawning fidgeted with his tie a bit. “Um…” “It means that LexCorp is gonna have a lot of explaining to do to just about the whole city,” Lucky said with a grin. “Oooh, I can’t wait to see Lex squirm about this! Dawning, seriously, if this ends up leading to where I think it’s leading to then you’re gonna be my hero.” “Assuming it really does lead where you think it’s leading,” Whiteout pointed out. “I’m not trying to knock you, Dawning, this is good work, but we might not want to outright pin it on LexCorp until we know more. I don’t want to jump to conclusions and fuel rumors and then have to print retractions later…even for somepony like Lex.” “O-of course, sir,” Dawning replied. Lucky just huffed. “And besides, the real story here isn’t the blackout. And actually…” He got up and walked to the door, throwing it open and clearing his throat loudly to get the attention of the rest of the newsroom. The clamoring and murmuring dropped to a silence as Whiteout raised his voice. “Now listen up, all of you! Alright. Supermane is real and our friend Lucky was right on the money. Now, we’ve been giving this city and Equestria at large exclusive coverage of this guy since he first showed up here, and I intend to keep it that way, you understand? I want the names “Supermane” and “Daily Planet” to go together like toast and butter! Friendship and magic! The Royal Guard and defeat! You got that? I want the real story about this guy! Where does he live? Does he have a family? A special somepony? What does the “S” stand for? What’s he got under that cape of his, batteries? If he’s just an earth pony then where do the powers come from? Why did he only show up in broad daylight now? Where was he for the last half-dozen catastrophes Equestria’s been hit by? I want to know it all! Everything! From this point on, Supermane is going to be our page one. Understand?” There was a chorus of “yes sirs” and nodding heads. “Great. Now get back to it!” He turned back to Dawning and Lucky. “And that goes double for you two. When those three feel ready to get going on their search, you two are going to be right there with them all the way. Supermane was your story, Miss Lead; I expect you to follow it to the end. Got it?” “Believe me, chief,” Lucky replied. “Between the four of us plus Dawning and maybe Quicksnap, we’ll find him before you know it. This doesn’t end until I’m right in front of him ready for an exclusive interview. Right Dawning?” “Uh, y-yeah, right,” Dawning nodded. “You can count on us, sir.” “Never thought I couldn’t. Now, then…get back to it, you two.” With that he left them and went back into his office, leaving the two standing alone between the door and the rest of the newsroom. As soon as the door shut Lucky leaned forward and gave Dawning a little peck on the cheek. The stallion blushed and folded his ears back. “W-what was that for?” “That,” Lucky smiled as she straightened his tie a bit. “Is for giving me even just a little bit of a reason to make Lex squirm for real. For getting lost you sure put yourself to some good use.” “Oh, I don’t know…” Dawning said as he adjusted his glasses. “Just doing my job, I guess…” “And doing a doggone good job of it.” She chuckled a bit. “Between Supermane finally showing himself to the world and knowing LexCorp’s gonna have to eat crow for all this, my day has been made.” “Well, I’m, uh…I’m glad to see you’re happy about it all.” “That I am indeed,” Lucky said, beginning to walk past him to go back to her desk. “Uh, Lucky?” Dawning called to her. “Hm?” “You, uh…did you get a good look at him? Like, I know he was in broad daylight, but…you know what I mean?” “Yeah, yeah. I’d say I got a decent enough look at him. Pretty much what I've been told.” “And…what did you see?” She shrugged. “That he’s tall. And tough-looking. And he’s got these big blue eyes like you’ve never seen in all your life…” she trailed off and then chuckled. “Geez, the way I’m talking it sounds like I’m in love with the guy, doesn’t it? Anyway, does that answer your question?” “Uh…well enough, I guess.” “Great. Now as much as I like chatting, I think we’ve got business to attend to, don’t we? Besides, I’ve gotta go and bask in my rightfully earned glory.” With a last wink she turned and headed back to her desk. Dawning quietly returned to his own, slumping down in his chair and sighing in a mixture of relief and stress. Well…at least the enchantment’s still holding up, he thought to himself. They still haven’t found Supermane in Dawning Hope yet…so I suppose I’ve got that to be thankful for. Just gotta make sure it stays that way, and that might be tough with how I’m supposed to be helping to look for…well…me. Oh, Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?… He reminded himself again of the lives he’d saved on the tram, and what might have happened had he not stepped out and done something. He tried to hold on to that and convince himself that this was all actually a good thing. It wasn’t easy, and he hated that it wasn’t. “…and as evening falls and today draws to a close, reports still continue to stream in of eyewitness accounts of the incredible tram rescue earlier today by none other than Supermane. The once-urban legend seems to have taken Manehattan by storm, with hundreds of stories of both seeing him flying overhead to the scene of the accident or the actual rescue itself. And despite not being seen since the dramatic events of earlier today, countless citizens have been reported watching from their windows or camping out on rooftops, hoping to catch a glimpse of this elusive vigilante…” “Rainbow Dash, would you be a dear and turn down the radio?” Rarity asked. “Oh, yeah, here ya go,” Rainbow replied as she adjusted the knob on the radio sitting on the bedside table, lowering the volume to a much more quiet tone. “Much obliged, darling.” The three had returned to their room at the Manefair Hotel. Evening had fallen on the city and was steadily shifting into night. Out the window, the last traces of orange and red light from the setting sun cast the Manehattan skyline in darkened silhouette, broken up by the lights of buildings blinking on to shine in the falling dark. Rarity and Fluttershy were sitting on one of the two beds in the room, the white unicorn checking Fluttershy’s nose and muzzle after giving it a proper cleaning earlier. “I told you, Rarity,” Fluttershy said. “I’m alright, really. It was just a little bleeding, that’s all.” “Well…alright,” Rarity finally said as she finished. “Just wanted to make sure there wasn’t any damage.” “There might have been if it weren’t for…well…for Supermane.” “Agreed,” Rarity replied. “A lot more ponies than just us owe him their gratitude for what he did today.” “I still can’t believe it…” Rainbow murmured to herself as she sat down on the other bed. “What, about Supermane?” Rarity asked. “Rainbow Dash, we all saw him. He save you and Fluttershy’s lives, how can–“ “No no, I don’t mean like that,” Rainbow replied. “Like, alright; I didn’t really think he was real before, but boy do I know. But…geez, Rarity, he was so fast! Like…I knew about the hovering and stuff but I never imagined he could fly like that!” “And completely without wings,” Rarity added. “It’s definitely strange, for sure.” “How do you think he does it? Like, is it natural somehow? Or magical? Is he some kind of super magical earth pony or is there some kind of artifact involved here?” “I really have no idea,” Rarity replied. “However he does it, he does it…another mystery about him for us to unlock, I suppose.” Rainbow was about to respond, but then looked past Rarity. “Hey, Fluttershy? You okay?” The yellow pegasus had moved from the bed to one of the windows, opened it, and was staring out at the view beyond. She didn’t respond to Rainbow at all, as though lost in her own thoughts. The other two mares came up beside her. “Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy was silent for another moment before she finally answered. “He looked scared,” she said softly. “Like…like he didn’t want us to see him. I-I know we all saw him fly away, but when I looked at him it was like…well…” “Well why in Equestria would he not want anypony to see him?” Rainbow mused. “He’s a friggin’ superhero! He was bound to be seen one way or another, and he was already doing stuff out in the open…” “At night,” Fluttershy pointed out. “In the dark.” “Well, yeah, but…well, I guess if you’re right and he didn’t want to be seen, then why go around with a big “S” on his chest and all that?” “I don’t know,” Fluttershy answered. “I guess…I guess a part of me wonders if we should just, well…leave him alone. Maybe…maybe he’s just a nice pony who’s trying to help anonymously and…maybe we should let him stay that way.” The three were silent for a while as they ruminated on that. “Well…” Rarity said. “Regardless, we have a task to accomplish. He’s out there somewhere, and it’s our job to find him. And if he does really want to be left in peace, well…I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The three ponies dropped into silence for a while as they looked out at the vast urban landscape beyond. The radio continued playing its report at a barely audible level behind them. “…and in related news, authorities have not yet identified the cause of the mysterious blackout which triggered today’s events in the first place. However, unconfirmed rumors have been circulating that the blackout originated from the LexCorp Plaza, sparking further whispers that the event was somehow caused, either accidentally or otherwise, by LexCorp. Neither the City Department of Energy or LexCorp have provided comments on this, and company CEO Tech Lexicon was unable to be reached for a word on the matter either. According to sources close to LexCorp, he has not been seen since his appearance at the announcement of the LexCore reactor earlier today just before the incident…” “Where is it?” the robed alien snarled as it held Lex up by the neck with one hoof. He would have responded–with a plea, with a curse, with anything–had the alien not been squeezing his throat so tight that it felt like he would snap his neck like a twig at any second. All he could manage were choked, pitiful gasps. “You have something I want. And I will find it. You can’t stop me. Nopony can.” Then the alien’s eyes flared a bright red, and a searing heat like Lex had never felt before cascaded across his head, setting his mane and fur on fire, melting his flesh– Tech Lexicon snapped awake with a start, clutching the bed sheets tightly against his pounding chest like a frightened child. He panted uncontrollably, and felt his fur dampened by sweat. His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkened penthouse bedroom around him, and he felt the comfortable feel of the bed beneath him as he tried to calm his nerves. “Lex?” he heard Mercy ask from beside him as she lifted her head up. “What’s–“ “I’m fine, I’m fine…” Lex murmured. He threw the blankest off of himself and stood up, trotting over to the great floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city beyond. Mercy, to her credit, didn’t try to follow or pry, simply remaining in the bed as he leaned his forehead against the window, feeling the cool chill of the glass and gazing out at the cityscape while he took deep, slow breaths. But looking out at Manehattan didn’t help either. Many a night he loved to look at the city. He loved this place, this little empire he’d set down for himself. The ponies and the city they lived in out there…they were his to grow and cultivate as he so wished. He had their adoration, their worship. And why shouldn’t he? He’d given them what they wanted, showering his technological blessings upon them like a benevolent god. He deserved their worship. And he’d had so much more planned… But now as he looked at the shimmering towers and structures of the city, he couldn’t focus on the artificial beauty they offered. No, now as he looked his mind saw the glowing eyes of an alien being looking back at him from any number of nooks and crannies in the darkness. He was out there watching him. Lex knew this for a fact. There was no reason why he shouldn’t be. Lex knew now why he was here and what he wanted. But where was he? Where was he hiding? Was he staring back into his gaze from some far away corner of the city even as Lex stood there trying to avoid trembling? Or perhaps he wasn’t even out there. What if he was… By a sudden impulse, Lex shot his head up and looked frantically upwards, but only found the darkened ceiling high above his head. No cloaked aliens up there. As he lowered his gaze he saw Mercy quietly watching him from the bed, propped up on her two front legs, the blankets draped over her back. And even though she was the only other pony in the room, he felt embarrassed that somepony had seen him like this. He broke off from her gaze and hurried to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and flicking on the lights. He somehow felt a little bit better in here, between the more confined space of the room and the brighter beige and white tones of the walls and floor in the light. He felt a bit safer, and his heart and breathing began to slow a bit. Lex staggered over to the mirror and looked at his reflection. The pony he saw staring back at him looked haggard and exhausted; his curly red mane was disheveled, and he could see bags under his now bloodshot green eyes. Sweet Celestia, I look awful. He turned on the faucet at the sink and dipped his hooves under the cool running stream, splashing and washing his face with it and taking a towel to dry himself. When was the last time he’d gotten nightmares? Tartarus, when was the last time he’d felt fear like this? He honestly couldn’t remember, but it had to have been sometime during childhood. But nothing he could remember had ever cut him to his core the way today’s revelations had. He was Tech Lexicon. He was one of the wealthiest ponies in Equestria. He had legions of scientists and soldiers and workers at his beckon call, and technology that would soon one day rival magic in terms of prowess. He could get whatever he wanted almost without effort. Nothing scared him. Until now. Until Supermane. I should have known…from the moment he came to Manehattan I should have known why he was here… He was after the ship. There was no question about it. He knew Lex had it, and now he was coming to claim it. But he couldn’t have it. It belonged to Lex. It had awakened his true genius, shown him his true destiny. He’d built LexCorp off of it. The whole of his life as it was now came from that ship and the secrets he’d pulled from it. It wasn’t the alien’s anymore. Lex finally finished drying off his face and put the towel down…and then out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red and he whirled around with a frightened cry and– …no. Wait. It wasn’t the alien’s red hood and cape. It was just the shower curtain. Nothing more. As the jolt of fear that had pierced his chest began to die away again, Lex found himself chuckling at how silly the whole thing was. He’d been spooked by a shower curtain of all things. Just a red shower curtain, nothing more. Nothing more. …he’d been spooked by a bucking curtain! The chuckle suddenly turned to a wild scream of rage as Lex hurled himself at the curtain, ripping it down from the rings holding it up and throwing it to the floor. He pounced at it like a wild animal, gripping it in his hooves and his teeth and tearing it into shreds with primal fury, throwing the pieces aside and stomping them as he tore the curtain apart. Somewhere along the way, a part of his mind imagined that it was flesh he was tearing. He didn’t know how long he spent ripping apart the curtain. All he knew was that when he finally stopped the thing had been shredded to tiny bits, and his throat was hoarse from all of his feral screaming. He slumped down to his haunches and panted as he glared down at the red shreds. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t any damned fair! Not when he’d come so far, not when LexCorp had grown how it had! He was only just getting really started! And what did he want with the ship anyway? He hadn’t cared about it for the past two decades and now he thought he could come along and rip out the heart of Lex’s empire…why now? Why now?! He couldn’t have it. No, “couldn’t” wasn’t good enough. He would not have it. Lex wouldn’t let him have it. Gradually, Lex began to calm down. Or at least his rage began to subside. Now his energy began to go to his mind, and all the wheels in his head were beginning to turn. There was no sudden dawning realization, no moment of eureka. He just began thinking of the how. Even as he slowly picked himself up and made his way to the door, still shaking, his mind was going to work on ideas and plans, all with one single outcome. He knew what his new mission was. And he would not rest until he’d accomplished it. He numbly pushed open the door and stepped back into the bedroom. As he wandered back to the bed, he was only vaguely aware of Mercy still sitting upright, watching him with concern. She’d worked with Lex and been around him long enough to know that look in his green eyes when she saw it. “Sir?” she asked quietly. Lex blinked and looked at her. He stared for a moment before finally speaking, his voice low and soft. “I’m going to kill him, Mercy. I’m going to kill Supermane.”