//------------------------------// // Sticky Fingers! // Story: The Amazing Adventures of Captain Invincible! // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Twilight turned to look over her shoulder and saw Applejack standing at the bottom of the stairs. The farmer gave her a small smirk. “Caught up in a good book again, huh, sugarcube?” Twilight responded with a sheepish grin, but quickly closed the book and levitated it back onto the shelf. “Yeah, you got me. I was supposed to be, um, dusting down here but I pulled a book of the shelf that was out of place and, well, y'know?” Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Anywho, are we still on for lunch? When ya didn't come by the farm, I figured I better come check on ya.” Twilight smacked a hoof to her forehead. “Oh, jeez! I am so sorry, Applejack. I completely forgot we were having lunch today.” “No problem,” Applejack said, “If yer busy, we can just do it another time.” “No, no, now would actually be perfect,” Twilight said, walking over to her friend. “I need to get out of the house for a while anyway.” Not to mention away from that journal, she finished silently. ***** A little while later, the two had finished their meal at the cafe. Twilight sighed in contentment. Applejack's smirk returned. “And ponies say I have a huge appetite,” she said teasingly. Twilight grinned. “I don't know what it is. If I spend the whole day reading I end up devouring nearly everything in sight. At least Spike will be pleased I haven't cleaned out the icebox again while he's been out.” “What were ya readin', anyway?” Applejack asked. “Musta been pretty interestin'. Some new history o' magic book, or somethin'?” “No, nothing like that,” Twilight answered. “It was--” She trailed off as she realized what she was about to say. Applejack noted the change in Twilight's mood. “Twi? You okay?” she asked. Twilight looked at her friend and sighed. “Applejack, I've... I've been doing something terrible.” She went on to explain about finding the journal, Spike's stories, and how she hadn't been able to stop reading them. Applejack said nothing while Twilight explained, her expression blank. When Twilight had finished, Applejack let out a sigh of her own. “Twi, honey, you know I love you like my own sister, but what in tarnation were you thinkin'? Invadin' somepony-- er-- dragon's privacy like that?” “I know!” Twilight cried. “I know what I did was wrong, but the stories they're just-- they're fun. They're engaging. I haven't been this enthralled by a work of fiction since the Daring Do series started. I can't stop reading them. I want to know what happens next.” Applejack fixed her friend with a serious look. “Sugarcube, whether the stories are good or not ain't the point. The point is that Spike didn't want anypony to see 'em, and y'all should have left that journal alone when ya discovered what was in it. If ya had, ya wouldn't be in this mess now.” Twilight looked down at the table and nodded. “What do I do, AJ?” Applejack's expression softened. “Tell him. Tell him what ya did and that yer sorry. Tell him why ya did it, and, hopefully, everything'll work out.” “What if he says he hates me? What if he wants to leave? That he never wants to see me again?” Twilight asked, panic rising in her voice. “I don't think I could take it.” “Twilight, that dragon loves you,” Applejack began. “And yes, he'll be mad. Maybe real mad. But he's not gonna run off or turn his back on ya. I wouldn't do it, neither would the other gals, and Spike's known ya longer'n we have. Shoot, he's known ya as long as he's been alive. But, if ya don't tell him, he's gonna find out on his own, and then things'll just be worse'n they already are.” Twilight nodded, and looked back up at her friend. “You're right. I should tell him, and take what's coming to me. It'll be hard, but it has to be done. Thanks, Applejack.” Applejack smiled. “Yer welcome, Twi. And if things get outta hoof, I always got an open door and a shoulder to cry on.” “I might have to take you up on that,” Twilight said with a small smile of her own. “I better get back. Spike will be home soon.” “And I gotta get back to the farm.” The two mares got up and left some bits on table for their meals. As they made ready to leave for their respective homes, Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “It'll be all right. Just be honest. It usually pays off in the long run.” “I hope so, Applejack. Talk to you later,” Twilight said. “I'll be at the farm if you need me, sugarcube,” Applejack replied before setting off for Sweet Apple Acres. The two friends waved goodbye, and Twilight made her way back to the library. The library was still quiet when she arrived. Spike hadn't yet come home. Twilight sighed. It would have been so much easier if he had been there. She could have told him and gotten it over with. I'm going to go out of my mind waiting for him, she thought. I've got to do something to take my mind off this for now. She let out a sigh when the usual thought came to her. Well, I was going to tell him I read it anyway. In for a bit, in for a pound. She walked downstairs, retrieved the journal and brought it back up to the common room. She made herself comfortable on her favorite cushion, flipped open the journal and began to read. With a flash of light, the Schoolmarm appeared in the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Ponytopolis. She looked around nervously. Meeting with her current employer always made her nervous. “Hello? Is anyone here?” she called. She froze in place as the meager light coming from the filthy windows of the warehouse was suddenly blotted out. The atmosphere became cloying and oppressive, and the Schoolmarm swallowed as she recognized the signs that meant her employer had arrived. “What happened?” The voice of her employer was distorted with the unmistakable tinge of dark magics. The Schoolmarm strained to see through the darkness, only seeing the vaguest outline of a pony standing in front of her. “Captain Invincible,” she answered. “The Urchins are in custody, and he knows about the pies.” “You didn't keep your mouth shut.” The harsh accusation was a sentence, not a question. The Schoolmarm hung her head. “No, my lady.” “It seems to be a recurring problem with the dragon's foes. Dr. Spectra babbled as well.” “About the entire plan?” The Schoolmarm's voice was tinged with fear. If Captain Invincible knew what was actually going on, she was sure there would be no mercy from the dragon for any of his foes who were involved, given the information her employer had provided when she had been recruited. “Fortunately for her, no,” the magically distorted voice replied. “It does, however, mean we have to move up the timetable. The dragon may not be as astute as his mentor, but he's no fool. We need the doctor available. Now.” “I can arrange a breakout,” The Schoolmarm said, her fear replaced by her noted skill for strategy. “But the second he hears of it, Invincible will be called in. She'll be back behind bars in no time.” “I have taken care of that. Tomorrow morning, the dragon will find himself too occupied to worry about Dr. Spectra's escape. Speaking of arrangements, have you made the contact we discussed?” The Schoolmarm grinned. “She's on her way to the city now. I have a meeting with her tomorrow.” “You are certain she will accept the contract?” “She won't be able to resist. The opportunity to have the head of the most famous dragon in Equestria on her wall? She'd never pass that up.” The Schoolmarm's grin could have come from the depths of Tartarus itself. The shadowy pony chuckled. “Excellent. Now let us discuss the details of freeing Dr. Spectra.” ***** Morning rush hour in Ponytopolis. Ponies moved through the city streets, going about their daily business. Among the crowd was Hot Scoop, along with her friend Spike Fireborne, another reporter for the Ponytopolis Times. He was a small purple dragon, with a ridge of green scales running up his back and over the top of his head. He was dressed in a smart gray suit, as befitted a reporter of the city's major newspaper. The two were heading for the office after stopping at their favorite tea stand, and, as usual, Hot Scoop was raving about her favorite topic. “... and that horrid Dr. Spectra had me hooked up to yet another of those disgustingly filthy inventions of hers,” Hot Scoop was saying as they walked. “The chair was ridiculously uncomfortable too. After all these years of her kidnapping me to get Captain Invincible's attention, you would think she could at least provide a chair with some decent lumbar support.” “I suppose,” Spike said. “And Captain Invincible saved you again, right?” “Of course. How could he not? He's a true gentlepony – er – dragon. I'm just getting tired of this kind of thing happening every other week. It stops being frightening and becomes quite boring to be honest.” The two of them rounded a corner, then dropped quickly to the ground when they saw the carriage flying through the air towards them. The carriage bounced off the side of the building next to them and careened into a fruit stand on the opposite side of the street. Hot Scoop and Spike looked up. “Who in Equestria are they?” she asked aloud. “I don't know,” Spike replied. “Looks like some other ponies have decided to get into the supervillain game.” The ponies in question were rampaging further down the street. One was a teal unicorn mare with a light blue-and-white mane and tail. Surprisingly, she was walking on her hind legs. Her forelegs and upper chest was clad in a an odd silver and gold harness with a large glowing diamond in the center of the breastplate. Purple glowing tendrils of magic ran along her body and legs, clearly helping her keep the unnatural position she was in. However, the most amazing thing was the glowing magical projections coming from the end of her hooves. The projections were two large purple clouds which tapered off into four tendrils each. Spike frowned as he noted they bore a resemblance to his own claws. The unicorn thrust a hoof forward and one of the “claws” reached out, grabbed a fruit cart and hurled it at a group of escaping ponies. The cart smashed harmlessly in the street. The unicorn laughed at the sight. “This is great! Best deal we ever made, right, Sticky?” she called over her shoulder to her partner, an earth pony mare with a two-tone pink and dark blue mane. The earth pony had a similar harness to her partner, this one with a glowing amethyst in the breastplate. She walked on all four legs, but attached to the harness on her back was an odd, cannon-like device which fired large glowing pink balls of cotton candy at the citizens on the street. Several ponies were stuck to the walls of the buildings, kicking and struggling to free themselves. “Whatever you say, Stringsong,” Sticky said, firing another glob of cotton candy at a passerby. The unicorn turned and looked at her partner. “Sticky Sweet, you have no sense of fun,” she said. “And stop calling me 'Stringsong!' I need something better. I know! 'Fingers!' I am now to be called Fingers!” Sticky Sweet rolled her eyes. “'Fingers.' Right.” The earth pony scanned the street again, and spotted Hot Scoop and Spike near the end of the block. She frowned for a moment, then her eyes widened. “Hey! There she is!” she cried, swiftly training her cannon on Hot Scoop. Fingers turned in the same direction, and used her pseudo-claws to grab a demolished carriage. She held it over her head and threw it just as Sticky Sweet fired another cotton candy cannonball towards Hot Scoop. “Roll!” Spike cried. He and Hot Scoop quickly rolled away from each other as the sugary projectile hit where they had been. Hot Scoop got to her hooves just in time to see the wrecked carriage come crashing down on Spike. “Spike!” she screamed. Before she could see if her friend was hurt, another glob of cotton candy crashed into her, sending her bouncing into the wall of a nearby building. Pony and candy stuck to the wall with a resounding “splat.” Hot Scoop swooned, dizzy from the impact. “Well, that was easy,” Fingers said as she walked over to their captive. “Probably enough for a bonus.” “Getting her was only half the job,” Sticky Sweet replied, checking the strength of the cotton candy. “The hard part's coming.” “Don't worry,” Fingers said, smashing her magical fists together. “I'm ready for him.” Underneath what was left of the carriage, Spike let out the breath he'd been holding. Luckily, his small stature had managed to keep him from getting hit by any of the heavier parts of the wreck. He glanced through one of the many gaps in the beams and metal and saw Fingers and Sticky Sweet talking over by Hot Scoop. He frowned and quickly squeezed through a series of gaps, wriggling free on the other side of the wreck. Dashing to an alley on the other side of the street, he reached inside his shirt, pulling out a small medallion with an onyx stone in the center. Surrounding the stone was an intricate carving of the sun. Spike held the medallion aloft. “For the glory of Midnight Sun!” he cried. The onyx stone suddenly flared with hundreds of tiny pinpricks of light which expanded into a beam that bathed the dragon in pure white light. When the light faded, Spike had been transformed into the tall, muscular, square-jawed form of Captain Invincible. Captain Invincible quickly leaped to a handy window ledge, then, using it as a jumping off point, launched himself out to the street and landed behind the two rampaging ponies. “Why is it whenever ponies like you get hold of magic artifacts that they clearly don't know how to control, the first thing they do is go on a rampage of destruction?” “Ha!” Fingers snorted. “Shows what you know. We're getting paid a bundle for--” “Shut up, Stringsong!” Sticky Sweet snarled. She quickly trained her cannon on Captain Invincible and fired. The draconic defender nimbly dodged under the sugary sphere, grabbed it out of mid-air and hurled it back at the delinquent ponies. Fingers dodged out of the way but her partner wasn't nearly as lucky, taking the cotton candy ball full force and becoming stuck to another building. Captain Invincible quickly dashed to where Hot Scoop was imprisoned and freed her from her sticky restraints. “Oh, thank you, Captain!” Hot Scoop breathed. Then, her eyes popped open fully. “Spike!” “He's fine,” Captain Invincible said hurriedly. “I got him out before I got their attention. Now, you get somewhere safe, Miss Scoop, while I deal with Stringsong.” “It's FINGERS!” came a cry from behind them. Captain Invincible rolled his eyes comically at Hot Scoop, who stifled a giggle with her hoof before dashing off down the street. The Ponytopolis Protector turned around to face his newest adversary. “Right,” he said. “I will give you one chance to surrender now, and I promise to put a good word in with Sheriff Banana Bread.” “Surrender?” Fingers' lips curled up in an evil grin. “Why would I do that? I'm having so much fun!” Fingers raised her hooves and brought them down, the magical claws mimicking her movements. The claws smashed down on Captain Invincible, who thrust his own claws up, crossing them over his head. Fingers' magic claws impacted with the hero's forearms, the sheer power behind them forcing him to his knees. Captain Invincible grit his teeth and brought one leg up, bracing himself against the ground before using his powerful legs to push back against the magical force trying to crush him. He slowly got back to his feet and with one mighty thrust of his arms, pushed the magical claws off of him and back towards Fingers. Fingers' eyes widened and she quickly slapped the diamond in her chest plate with a hoof. The magical energy dissipated, and the pony dropped to her hooves. Captain Invincible frowned at her and started forward. Fingers quickly slapped the diamond again, and was back on her hind legs, and the magic claws reappeared. Fingers brought her hooves together and trapped the Captain in her two gargantuan magical fists. ***** Hot Scoop watched in horror as her draconic hero was held captive. She started forward, but forced herself to stay put in the alley in which she had hidden. She levitated her notepad and pencil and furiously scribbled notes to herself for the story she would later write for the newspaper, muttering them aloud as she wrote. “As Captain Invincible struggled with his magical bonds, the... oh, what's the right word? Evil? No, too plain. Diabolical? No. Nefarious? Eh, it'll do for now. The nefarious newcomer --ugh, lose the alliteration in the final draft-- approached the Ponytopolis Defender cackling in triumph.” As the reporter continued to document the fight between Fingers and Captain Invincible, she failed to notice the dark mist that began to flow from the shadows of the alley and congeal around her. Suddenly, tendrils of inky blackness burst from the mist and surrounded Hot Scoop, wrapping tightly around her muzzle, silencing her yelp of surprise. Other tendrils wrapped around her hooves and dragged her into the heart of the mist. When Hot Scoop had vanished into the mist, an unnatural wind picked up and blew it away, leaving the alley empty and barren. ***** “This has turned out to be a great day,” Fingers said, holding Captain Invincible up in the air with one magical claw, as she sent the other to free her partner from her spun sugar confinement. “My best friend and I get awesome super powers, we get a bagful of bits for a little mayhem, and we defeat Captain Invincible. This is awesome, isn't it, Sticky?” “No,” Sticky Sweet said flatly. Fingers looked at her friend in surprise. “What? But-- this is what we always wanted,” Fingers sputtered. “No, this is what you wanted,” Sticky replied. She touched the amethyst on her breastplate. The cannon on her back disappeared and the glowing silver lines running along her body vanished. She began to shrug her way out of the harness. “You and your stupid obsession, it always comes first. Some pony offers you a chance to get claws of your own and you just go bananas for it.” “Look at what they can do,” Fingers insisted. She grabbed another piece of debris and held it over her head. As she did so, her free claw began glowing brightly. Captain Invincible's eyes widened as she saw the claw holding him began to dim. He smiled to himself, but quickly made his expression blank as Fingers thrust him towards Sticky Sweet. “We caught Captain Invincible! Nopony has ever done that before! Not even Dr. Spectra!” Sticky Sweet sighed. “I don't care, Stringsong. I'm going to turn myself into the sheriff. I went along with this because you're my friend, but I don't want to hurt other ponies, and I don't want to smash things up either. I'm done.” Fingers goggled. “Done? But, but, we won. We did what she wanted. We can do anything we want now.” “And I want to just go back to the way we were,” Sticky said sadly. “Me and my best friend having ice cream, flying kites in the park, whining how much we hate our jobs. I don't want to rule the world. I just want to go home. Please, Stringsong? Let's go home.” Fingers looked from her friend to the wreckage in the street, then to Captain Invincible, who simply nodded. “My offer still stands, Stringsong,” he said. “Give up now, and tell me and the sheriff who hired you to do this, and I'll put in a good word for you. I'm sure something can be worked out.” Fingers looked from him, to Sticky Sweet, and back again, clearly torn. As she did so, the glowing claws faded in brightness. Captain Invincible flexed his muscles and burst from the clutching appendages. Dropping to the ground, he quickly darted forward, seized the diamond in Fingers' breastplate, wrenched it free, placed it into his mouth and began to chew it to bits. The magic instantly cut out, and Stringsong dropped to all fours once again. Se looked at Sticky Sweet, and burst into tears. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!” she wailed. “I just wanted to make things better for you, Sticky!” Sticky Sweet took her friend into her hooves. “I know. It's okay, now.” As Stringsong bawled into Sticky's shoulder, the earth pony looked up at Captain Invincible. “We were hired by somepony who called herself Lunar Dust. She promised us a hundred thousand bits, and that we could keep the harnesses if we kept you busy for a while.” “Busy?” Captain Invincible echoed. “Why would this Lunar Dust want you to keep me busy?” “Captain Invincible!” came a new voice. The dragon and the earth pony looked up to see Deputy Sugarcube dashing towards them. She skidded to a halt, panting for breath. “What's going on, Deputy Sugarcube?” the Captain asked as the pink pony caught her breath. “The sheriff needs you at the jail right away,” the deputy said. “The Schoolmarm staged a jailbreak!” Captain Invincible frowned. “She came back for the Urchins?” Deputy Sugarcube shook her head. “No, the sheriff's been looking after them. The Schoolmarm broke out Dr. Spectra and Buttermint!” A frown creased Captain Invincible's face. “Deputy Sugarcube, take these two into custody, but, be gentle. I'll meet you back at your office with the sheriff to figure out what to do about them.” Sticky Sweet and Stringsong looked up at him. The unicorn's eyes were wet and red. Captain Invincible gave them a reassuring smile. “We'll work it out. I promise. But for now, do what the deputy says, okay?” The two ponies nodded and Captain Invincible took a mighty leap into the air to the top of one of the shorter buildings on the street. With several more bounds, he was away over the rooftops to meet up with the sheriff. ***** Across town, the Schoolmarm, having seen to Dr. Spectra's escape, was meeting with another newcomer to Ponytopolis. “Naturally,” she said, “my employer would not have gone to the difficulty to contact you if she did not have need of your talents.” The newcomer was a gray pegasus mare with a tangled blonde mane and tail. She was clad in a black armored vest. A large wicked looking sword was in a scabbard across her back. A black eye patch rimmed with silver covered her left eye, while her right eye was a vibrant gold. On her flank was a cutie mark in the shape of a dragon curled around its own tail. “Save the flattery,” the pegasus said. “What do you want from me?” The Schoolmarm smirked. “All right, I'll get to the point. You are the best known dragon hunter in Equestria. They say you can locate the hiding place of any dragon anywhere. Is this correct?” “Ask the sixteen dragons who have their heads on my wall,” the pegasus answered. The Schoolmarm's smirk turned into an open grin. “Excellent. Then we have a challenge for you. We want you to locate the lair of Captain Invincible, and then we want you to add his head to your collection.” For the first time, the gray pegasus smiled. “Tell me more.” The sound of the doorknob turning brought Twilight out of her reading-induced trance. She quickly closed the journal and placed it on the small table next to her cushion, before getting up and turning to face the door. “Twilight, I'm home!” Spike called as he entered. “Rarity says she's sorry she missed lunch with you and Applejack, but -- oh, there you are. Hey, are you all right? You look upset. Did something happen?” Twilight sighed and looked at Spike with shame in her eyes. “Spike, I need to tell you something.”