//------------------------------// // Part 1, Chapter 8 // Story: Mare of Steel // by iowaforever //------------------------------// Chapter 8 Another day in Ponyville was beginning, and the denizens of the town were busy setting up for the day; shops were opened, food stands were prepped and ready, and foals ran about the town in their never-ending quest to find entertainment and excitement. Twilight would have joined them, but a letter from Princess Celestia concerning the rock that had poisoned Rainbow Dash had come in last week, so she was spending time reviewing her notes and preparing a report. She was not getting far; since Rainbow had taken the rock with her to Canterlot (and subsequently lost it), Twilight had nothing to test on. Her previous test had drawn a little information, but none that could answer the question of what exactly the rock was or how it affected ponies. If she had had better foresight she would have asked for a blood sample from Rainbow Dash to test, but with the Pegasus nowhere to be found that plan had been scrapped. She was about to review her notes (again) when Pinkie burst through the door at high speed and tackled her. “Oh Twilight! You’re here! That’s good ‘cause this is really really really important!” “Pinkie, get off me.” Pinkie jumped off Twilight and allowed the unicorn the chance to pull herself up “Now, what’s the problem?” “Well, I was making cupcakes with Mr. Cake when my Pinkie Sense went off. My knees got all twitchy, my ears got floppy, and my nose and eyes got itchy.” “And that means...?” “That something really big and scary is going to come into Ponyville and lots of ponies are going to get hurt if we don’t do something!” Twilight’s eyes widened; Pinkie Sense was rarely wrong, and the concentration of ponies outside meant there was a very good chance that somepony could be hurt. “What exactly is coming to Ponyville?” “Uh... I don’t know. Just something big and scary!” As if to answer her question, the ground shook from an impact. The two ponies trotted outside and gasped. Coming out of the Everfree Forest was a machine. Its design was based on a typical dragon, except the wings had been replaced by exhaust pipes and armored plating. Smoke and steam welled out of its mouth, and its eyes glowed blood red. The thing let out a roar, a terrible noise of synthesizers and worn steel, before continuing on its march towards Ponyville. “Giant... robot... dragon...” was all Twilight could say. “See, I told you it was scary. What do we do?” “Uh... I, uh... Get everypony away from there... Now, please.” Pinkie was off, the earth pony disappearing in a cloud of dust. Twilight could only stare at the metal dragon as it advanced on the town, its heavy footfalls ringing throughout her entire being. She managed to shake herself out of her stupor long enough to take off in the opposite direction Pinkie had gone. I’ve got to get everypony out of here... Do I have any spells that work against giant mechanical dragons?... I think I do. As she formulated her plan, other ponies noticed her distress and began following her. “Listen up everypony! A giant robot dragon is coming towards our town, and I need everyone to leave before it starts hurting ponies.” Most of the ponies just stared at her, with some mumbling or chuckling nervously to one another “This is serious! We’re all in big danger... Pinkie Pie predicted it!” As soon as she said that, every pony panicked and made a beeline for the western half of town. Just as the dragon reached the eastern half of town. ................ Scootaloo pulled her scooter to a stop and gasped. The giant robot dragon had stomped on a few houses and was now eyeing the small Pegasus and her two friends. Scootaloo gulped and began to backpedal, her hoof bumping against the wagon she had hitched to her scooter. “Um, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said, prodding the Pegasus in the back “Could you get us out of here faster?” The dragon bellowed and began to stomp towards them, its giant tail slamming into another house as it moved. Scootaloo gulped once more and took off as fast as possible, the dragon chasing after her and her friends. “Can’t ya lose it?” Applebloom asked, her voice barely audible over the sound of the dragon’s stomping. “Hang on, this might get rough!” Scootaloo turned left down an alley as a jet of flame scorched the earth behind her. The dragon roared again and changed direction, smashing the wall off yet another building as it moves. The fillies turned down yet another corner, with Scootaloo increasing their speed, and found themselves in Ponyville’s town square with the dragon still on their heels. Scootaloo, on the verge of panic, veered right and headed towards the town hall in hopes the machine chasing her would stall after wrecking a few more buildings. However, Scootaloo was in such a panic that she failed to spot a large rock in her path. Upon striking that rock, she, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were pitched head over hooves into the dirt, stunning the three fillies and allowing the metal dragon to catch up to them. Scootaloo shook her head clear and watched as the giant machine raise one foot to stomp on the Cutie Mark Crusaders. With no time to roll away, or to save her friends, the orange filly raised her right foreleg in an attempt to shield her eyes from her impending doom. There was a clang of hooves against metal and the sound of gears and pistons grinding together. Confused as to why she was not dead yet, Scootaloo opened her eyes and looked up. Standing over her, pushing up against the dragon’s foot with her forehooves, was a mare. She had a tan coat and gray mane, and she was dressed in a red cape and blue suit, which was adorned by a stylized S. The mare showed no sign of strain as she held back the mechanical monster, as if this was something she had encountered every day of her life. The mare looked over her shoulder at the filly behind her. “Are you alright?” she asked, her voice melodic and regal, yet containing a small bit of steel. “Uh, yes, yes I am.” Scootaloo got back to her hooves while the mare turned her attention back to the dragon. “Good. Get your friends out of here and go find the others. I’ll deal with this thing.” she swished her tail a little and with a snarl pushed up against the foot. The sudden force caught the robot dragon off guard and flipped it, the machine slamming into the ground with an earth-shaking impact. “Go, now!” Scootaloo nodded and raced over to the other two crusaders, who were still collecting themselves. “You guys okay?” Scootaloo asked. “Yup.” Applebloom said, placing her helmet back on her head “Wha’ happened?” “We hit a rock and then this weird pony came out of nowhere and flipped the dragon!” try as she might, Scootaloo could not suppress her grin as she spoke. “But that thing was huge!” Sweetie Belle said “No pony could have flipped it.” “I’m serious. Look, see, she’s right over-” as the three fillies turned, they saw that the mare was now beneath the dragon, lifting the machine with her forehooves. With a lunge she pitched the machine to the east before taking off after it. “See?! See what she did?!” “But... that’s impossible...” Scootaloo smiled again and hopped back on her scooter. “Come on Crusaders, we’ve gotta follow her.” “Wait, ya want to follow th’ robot that tried ta kill us?” Applebloom asked. “Did ya hit your head or somethin’?” “I just want to see what that weird pony’s doing.” “I agree with Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle said “It’s really dangerous...” “Well, if you don’t want to come, then I’ll go by myself.” Scootaloo kicked off and sped towards where the dragon had been thrown. The other two Crusaders looked at each other. “Should we go after her?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Better’n her gettin’ hurt.” and the two began galloping after their friend before Pinkie jumped in front of them. “Where are you two going?” she asked. “Scootaloo went off after the dragon. We were just-” “What?!” The pink pony grabbed the two fillies and pulled them in “You know what’s gonna happen to her if that mean robot dragon finds her?” “Wait! There was this other pony that was fighting the dragon!” Sweetie Belle said, struggling against Pinkie’s grip. “She threw the dragon out of town and then Scootaloo started following her when she went after them!” Pinkie’s grip weakened and the two fillies dropped to the ground. “Really?” “Yeah, ya gotta believe us!” Applebloom said. There was a pause before Pinkie smiled. “I’ll tell Twilight about this; she’ll be so happy knowing that the big mean robot dragon’s taken care of. You two go find Scootaloo and I’ll go get the others.” “Wait, won’t somepony get hurt if something goes wrong?” “Don’t be silly; there’s always crowds when big mean robots get beat up and they never get hurt.” and with that Pinkie was off, leaving behind two very confused foals. “Let’s just go find Scootaloo.” ................. The dragon landed with a crash in the field next to the Everfree Forest, kicking up a massive cloud of dust as it landed. As it struggled to get back on its feet, the mare hovered over it, her forehooves up in a fighting position. “Listen to me.” she said “You attacked Ponyville, and for that I should destroy this machine. But I don’t want to kill you, so surrender before I am forced to defeat you.” It seemed like a reasonable offer, and flying halfway around the world had been taxing her energy a little. The dragon managed to get back on its feet before roaring again and swiping at the mare with its right hand. The massive metal hand struck the mare and sent her spiraling through the air, but she managed to recover quickly and return to her original position. “So that’s how you want to handle this? Fine. This won’t take long, then.” The dragon roared once more and swung with its left arm. Before the attack could connect, the mare turned and swung with her right hoof, the two attacks colliding at high speed. The metal of the hand folded almost completely in half before the entire hand shattered, with bits of metal falling to the ground. Seeing her opening, the mare shot forward and slammed into the robot’s chest, the steel plates bending under the force. The dragon staggered back, but she allowed it no time to recover. She rushed forward and slammed her hooves into the machine again and again, each strike leaving visible cracks and dents in the armor. Satisfied with the damage to the torso, she rose up and brought her right hoof down on top of the dragon’s head, knocking it back to the ground. “I’ll give you another chance to surrender.” she said. The dragon struggled to get back on its feet, it’s eyes fixated on the mare in the blue suit and cape. With another roar, a jet of fire shot from the machine’s mouth and engulfed its opponent,who barely flinched as flames that would be hot enough to melt iron washed over her. When the attack was finished, the mare was still flying, her suit and body no worse for wear. “Impressive. Let me try mine.” she flew around the side of the dragon, and after a pause two red beams shot from her eyes and struck the robot’s right leg at the hip. She dragged the beams across the leg, slicing through the metal like a pair of scissors through worn paper. When she finished, a clean cut had separated the leg from the rest of the body, and with the loss of support the metal dragon collapsed to the ground. The mare landed on the back of the dragon, quickly locating a seam near one of the exhaust pipes. A quick smack with her hooves created a gap large enough for her to slip her forelegs through, and she proceeded to rip the entire back of the robot off. As she tossed the sheet of metal away, she spotted a large glowing cage lined with tubes and wires. “Ah, a power source. That should end this.” she jumped down to the power source and wrapped several wires around her hooves before yanking up, ripping it from the machine. The robot stopped moving and shuttering, and the glow in its eyes began to fade. The power source shook for a moment before it too stopped glowing, and the mare tossed that next to the piece of metal she had ripped off earlier. She flew up to the head of the now disabled machine, searching for a way in. A brief scan showed a small door near where the left ear would have been. She landed next to the door and pried it open, readying herself for anything she might find inside. Inside the dragon’s head, dazed from being knocked around, were two unicorns, identical save for different cutie marks and a mustache on the closer one. They wore striped blue shirts and bowties that looked like they had not been washed in quite some time. But what caught the mare’s attention was their eyes; they were dull, unfocused, and had a slight glow to them. They looked nothing like the con-artists she knew them as; rather, they looked like a pair of drunken bums. “It appears we have been caught, dear brother of mine.” the lead said, his voice slow and mechanical. “Yes indeed. Just like they said.” the other replied. “Well, it was still a good run, wouldn’t you agree?” “Indeed it was.” the two unicorns stood next to each other and faced the mare. “I suppose now we need to enact our contingency plan.” “I suppose so.” With that, the two leapt at the mare, hoping that together they could overpower, or at least hassle, their opponent. Before they could reach her, however, she had slammed the door on their heads, knocking the two out. “If your plan was to try and overpower the mare who just tore your robot to pieces,” she said, reaching in and grabbing the two other ponies by their shirts “I’ll have to recommend you to a psychiatrist.” ............... Scootaloo had only arrived near the end of the fight, when the mare had sliced the leg off the dragon. She stood there in silence, awed by the display of power the mare had show, and it was only after the mare moved towards the dragon’s head that she noticed her wings were buzzing with excitement. She was so focused on the scene before her that she failed to hear the pop of a teleport and the sound of hooves rushing towards her. “Scootaloo! What do you think you’re doing?” Twilight asked as she ran to the Pegasus filly. Scootaloo’s wings stopped buzzing and she turned to the older mare. “Sorry Twilight. But look at what she did!” Scootaloo pointed towards the wrecked dragon. Twilight gasped a little but managed to regain her composure as the mare flew towards them carrying two battered ponies. “Is... Is that Flim and Flam? They’re the ones that made that thing?” “I’m afraid so, ma’am.” the mare said before dropping the two ponies to the ground “Contact the Royal Guards and put these two into custody. Also, check them for any signs of brainwashing; While they might not have been the most moral of ponies the first time I met them, I don’t think they would go on a rampage like this on their own accord.” “Wait, you’ve met them before?” “I traveled a lot before coming here. Now if you will excuse me, I have to dispose of the dragon.” The mare turned to leave before Scootaloo stepped forward. “Wait! Who are you?” The mare paused before turning around and facing Twilight and Scootaloo. “A friend.” she smiled and flew back to the dragon, hoisting the thing up in her hooves and flying off to the east. Once the mare and robot dragon were out of sight, Scootaloo fainted. .................... The next day, reporters from all over Equestria flooded into Ponyville. Every major newspaper, from the Manehattan Enquirer to the Seaddle Times, even the local Foal Free Press, had somepony scouring Ponyville for anything that might have been of use. They could care less about the damage, the displaced ponies, even the giant robot dragon; all they cared about was the mysterious mare that had appeared and saved Ponyville. And inside Sugarcube Corner, five mares were discussing the events. “I don’t like this,” Applejack said, pushing away her mug of cider “Somethin’ don’t add up.” “Applejack, our sisters could have died the other day, and you think there’s something wrong with them being saved?” Rarity said. “Nah, I’m glad they’re still alive... But I mean, some mare just shows up outta nowhere ‘n beats up some big robot that just happens to attack town for no reason? I bet she staged the whole thing!” “Scootaloo and your sisters said she threw the dragon across town,” Twilight said, setting aside a newspaper “Nopony besides the Princesses is that strong.” “Exactly. I reckon she used some kinda freaky magic stuff to make it look like she was throwin’ it around like that.” Applejack stamped her hoof against the floor “Just ain’t decent, tryin’ to make somepony look all big ‘n powerful like that.” “I did a sweep of the area after I got Flim and Flam to the guards; the only magic residue I got was from the power source.” Twilight slumped over “Which I can’t analyse because she took it away. Imagine what I could do if I could figure out what was powering that thing; Equestria could enter a new age of technology if magical propulsion got worked out.” “Twi, yer ramblin’ again.” “Oh, sorry.” “Well, I’m just happy everypony’s okay.” Fluttershy said “It would have been just awful if somepony had gotten hurt or died when that robot showed up.” “Yeah...” Applejack looked around “Where’d Pinkie get off to?” “Some reporters asked her what happened, and... Well, you know Pinkie.” “When was that?” “Six hours ago.” “Oh.” there was silence. “Well, I think we’re all just being a little too glum about the whole situation,” Rarity said, picking another cupcake up with her telekinesis “Let’s just be happy that everypony is okay.” “Yes, I would like that.” Fluttershy said. Applejack muttered something and pulled her mug back. “Another thing, why’s she gotta be so secretive about everythin’?” “Because she’s a superhero!” Pinkie Pie said, popping out from behind a nearby table “And superheroes never tell anypony about all the super things they do because they don’t want to be big Braggy McBraggersons.” “I think it’s a little early to be calling her a superhero.” Twilight said “Yes, she saved a bunch of ponies, but-” “But nothing!” Pinkie said, leaning in real close to Twilight “She beat up a giant robot. She is a superhero.” “But beating up robots doesn’t make a pony a superhero. There has to be more than that.” “There is, but that’s ruining the fun of it.” “Geez, I go away for five months and you guys start having arguments about superheroes.” the five ponies turned and saw Rainbow Dash standing in the middle of the room, her saddlebags resting on the ground “Guess I really do hold you all together.” The other five could only gape at their friend, while Rainbow Dash shifted her gaze to one of confusion “What? Should I leave and come back later?” “R-Rainbow Dash!?” the five other said. “Yeah, is something wrong?” She had barely finished her sentence when she was barreled over by a pink blur. “Dashie! You’re back!” Pinkie said, hugging the Pegasus as tight as she could. “We tried writing you, but every letter we sent just came back unopened.” “Spike wasn’t too happy about that.” Twilight said as Rainbow and Pinkie made their way over to the table. “Well, I only spent a few days in Seaddle, then I started doing some odd jobs around that part of Equestria.” “I can tell,” Applejack said, poking Rainbow Dash in the side. “Looks like you’ve been doin’ some hard labor.” “There were a bunch of citrus farms over near Los Pegasus.” “You were in Los Pegasus?” Rarity said, swooning slightly. “Oh, you simply must tell us everything you saw there.” “Maybe some other time; I’m a little beat from the trip.” “That’s another thing,” Twilight said. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming back? You disappear for five months and then show up without warning. We could have met you down at the station.” “I did send you a note... What, didn't you get it?” the other five shook their heads ‘no’. “Ah, sorry about that. Well, I’m here now, so you don’t have to worry about anything else... Hey, can I get some food, I’m really hungry.” Pinkie released Rainbow Dash and reappeared with a fresh plate of cupcakes and some milk. “Thanks... So, did I miss anything while I was gone?” The others looked at each other before looking back at Rainbow Dash. “Well... Um... You missed something... yesterday.” Twilight said. “What?” “Um... Well, there was an incident with a... dragon.” “And you didn’t tell me sooner?” Rainbow Dash set the plate of cupcakes down and grabbed Twilight. “Are you guys okay? Was anypony hurt? Where’s Scootaloo? Is she okay?” “Relax, Rainbow. Nopony was seriously injured-” “Because a superhero came out of the sky and saved us all!” Pinkie shouted, pushing Twilight out of the way. “... What?” “Yeah, she came in and she threw the big mean robot out of town and then she went and ripped it open and disabled it and beat it up and then flew off with it and she was all mysterious and didn’t say much and then Scootaloo fainted and-” “Pinkie!” the other four shouted. “What?” “I think it’d be better if we explained it to her a little slower.” Twilight said. “But Twilight-” “No Pinkie.” Pinkie’s mane deflated slightly and she walked away. Twilight gave a small sigh and turned her attention to Rainbow. “What she was trying to say was that this mare-” “Who was a superhero.” “... This mare came out of nowhere and started fighting the robot.” “Like a superhero.” Twilight snapped her head around, leveling a glare at Pinkie. “Pinkie, stop interrupting me.” “But Dashie won’t get the whole story if you don’t tell her about the superhero.” “You know what, fine! There was a superhero! She threw the dragon across town and shot it with laser eyes! She was wearing a big red cape and blue suit with an S on it, and she sounded a lot like Princess Celestia! Are you happy now!?” “Yes Twilight.” Pinkie said, smiling all the way. Twilight sighed again and looked back at Rainbow Dash. “Sorry you had to see that; I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately.” “Hey, that’s okay. I mean, we’ve all had times like that, right?” the other five nodded. Rainbow Dash pulled a cupcake from the nearby plate and began eating. “So, a superhero?” “Yes.” the other five, save Pinkie, said. “And she just disappeared after destroying the robot?” “Yes.” There was a pause. “Okay.” Rainbow Dash resumed eating while the others looked at her in shock. “Wait, you’re not jealous?” Rarity asked. “Uh, no. Should I be?” “Well, you are the local hero, and there was that one time when...” Fluttershy mumbled the rest of her sentence and backed away, but the others got the general idea. “Well, yeah, but that was smaller stuff. I couldn’t fight a big robot dragon if I tried, so I guess this new mare gets a couple points there... whoever she is.” “Ooh, she doesn’t have a super-cool name!” Pinkie cried. The others ignored her. “Promise us that you won’t do anything... stupid?” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Hey, if she shows up again, I’ll be nice. But if she starts stealing my fans, well-” “You’ll have a nice talk with her and get her to compromise.” Twilight finished for her. “... I was going to say challenge her to some kind of competition, but I guess that works better in the long run.” “What do you think would be a good name for her?” Pinkie said “She’s all super and stuff... How about Supermare? Is Supermare a good name?” “Pinkie, nopony cares about her name.” “Sure they do. I’ll prove it.” Pinkie bounced over to one of the reporters, a beige colt who wore a small button with the letters “EQD” printed on it “Hey, Mr. Reporter Guy?” “Um, yes?” “Do you think Supermare is a good name for the superhero?” There was a pause before the colt smiled. “Good? It’s awesome! I was having trouble with what to call this new pony, but ‘Supermare’ fits perfectly. Besides, it’s kinda catchy.” “I know!” “Hey, can I talk to you about what you saw for a bit?” “Sure.” Pinkie bounced off with the reporter tailing her. Rainbow Dash chuckled again and ate another cupcake. “Ah, it’s good to see Pinkie being Pinkie.” the conversation would have continued, but the five friends were interrupted when an older mare with a grey mane and glasses came over to them. “Oh, Twilight, so good to see you here.” the Mayor said “I need to ask you a favor.” “Oh?” “You see, some of the town council members, myself included, thought that we should show our appreciation to that mare-” “Supermare.” Twilight corrected her. “What?” “Pinkie named her Supermare.” “Oh. Well, anyway, I was hoping you and Pinkie could coordinate something to show her how thankful we are that she saved our town. Nothing too big, mind you; just something small and heartfelt for her.” “Okay, I’ll think of something.” “Wonderful!” the Mayor smiled “I’ll go tell Pinkie about my plan.” and she walked off, leaving the five mares alone again. “Guess we need to fight more dragons if we’re ever gonna get a party like that.” Rainbow muttered. “We don’t need that kind of recognition,” Twilight said “Can you imagine what our lives would be like if everypony thought we were superheroes? We’d be mobbed by ponies everywhere we went and couldn’t really live out our lives.” “Hey, I wouldn’t mind; I think it’d be kinda cool to have a bunch of ponies following me around.” “Well of course you wouldn’t mind, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said “But we’re not all you. Could you imagine poor Fluttershy if thousands of ponies were coming to see her?” Fluttershy cringed a little and looked at the table. “... Maybe you’re right.” Rainbow Dash finished another cupcake and stood to leave “I’m going to go find Scootaloo, just to see how she’s doing.” “Oh, when will you be coming by to pick up Tank?” Fluttershy asked. “When I’m finished hanging out with Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash nodded her thanks to the Cakes and left Sugarcube Corner. “Well, it’s good that Rainbow Dash is back home safe.” Rarity said. “Yeah... but ain’t it kinda weird how quickly she blew off that whole ‘Supermare’ thing?” “I’m sure she’s just tired,” Twilight said “Once she settles back into the swing of things she might have more to say.” “Maybe...” .............. That night, Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, her cape draped over her like a blanket. Tank was sleeping in his favorite corner, and Rainbow Dash was happy that she had him back. She sighed a little and pulled the cape a little closer. So, superhero... I think I’m okay with that. She rolled over and looked out one of her windows. I still have to watch out for Pinkie; all that talk of superheroes and she might actually find out I’m Supermare... Wait, is there anything wrong with her finding out? Or my other friends finding out? Rainbow Dash sat up and frowned. Well... Pinkie’s Pinkie but she’s good at keeping secrets. Applejack’s a bad liar, but she keeps her word. Fluttershy might let something slip, but not on purpose. Twilight would probably want me in some lab, but I don’t think she’d betray me. Rarity’s big on the whole reputation thing, so she’ll probably understand... Rainbow smiled again, before another thought crept into her mind. But what if some bad guy comes along and tries to get to me through them...? No, I can’t risk it. She flopped back down on her bed and looked at the ceiling. Someday, though... Someday. She pulled the cape and her normal blanket a little closer, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.