Nurse Redheart had seen a lot of weird things in her life: Ponies that changed into different colors because of a potion they had ingested, or the time that a number of ponies had been turned into cacti by the local librarian. At this point in her career, she had thought that nothing could faze her. Boy, was she wrong.
She had just finished reading a stack of medical records when the doors to the hospital were blown open in a huge gust of wind, scattering the papers across the room. She turned in a rage to the pony who had done that, to find a sight that dropped her jaw to the floor. A massive, bipedal creature was standing in the doorway with a red cape blowing behind him. He held an orange pony in his arms.
"Excuse me, miss? This pony here needs medical attention now," it told her, walking over and showing her the wounded Applejack. Redheart wanted to run, but her sworn oath to help others came first. So, despite her better judgment, she ordered a stretcher be brought in for the pony. The staff that brought the stretcher had the same reaction to the creature as she did, but the creature was more concerned with the pony's safety than it was of their opinion of him. He gently placed the pony down on the stretcher and watched as the doctors and nurse sped off with her.
Now that he had a moment to rest, Superman started to look around the hospital. He could see the rooms above and to the sides of him, filled to the brim with the injured and dying. It hurt him deeply, knowing that if he had been a moment faster they all still might be well. He walked over to the seats in the main office and sat down, waiting for any news of Applejack. He heard the door to the hospital open again and watched as the princess he had just battled walk up to him, face flustered and panting heavily.
"Where's...Applejack?" she managed to pant out. Superman pointed down the hallway to where all the doctors and nurses were. Without another word she left to go check on the pony, but stationed two guards who followed her to watch him. While Superman could no longer see the princess or Applejack (well, he could but chose not to do so), he could still listen in on their conversations with ease. He leaned back against the chair and simply tuned in to their conversation.
"Are you sure that's what he did?" he heard Celestia ask Applejack.
"Well, ah can't be certain. Ah was...dead for most of it. But when ah woke up, we were thousands of feet in the air and in the middle of a lighting storm. Considering how tingly mah body was, ah figured he used the electricity to bring me back." Celestia began to pace back and forth, not sure of what to make of the story.
"What happened with the hydra?"
"Well...it was incredible, fer what ah saw. The hydra was just devastating the village and...and was about to step on mah sister, when this blur just flew in and caught the hydra's foot! He lifted the hydra with one arm--ONE ARM! Ah've never seen somepony so strong!" Superman heard Celestia's heartbeat increase and she started to pace even faster.
"What else do you know?"
"Princess, I'm sorry to interupt, but we need to begin operating on Applejack. While the burn did stop the bleeding, she is still in danger," a nurse informed her.
"Yes, of course. Get well soon Applejack," Celestia said, turning back down the hallway. Superman opened his eyes as she entered the room, watching her as she glanced at him. She pulled up another chair with magic and sat down in front of him. She looked up and down at his suit, eyes resting on the slightly burned "S" on his chest.
"What does the "S" stand for?" she finally asked.
"Superman," he responded with a smile. She narrowed her eyes and continued the questioning.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"Because you took my ship," he responded with a raised eyebrow. Celestia looked taken aback, surprised that he knew.
"How did you--?"
"You said during our fight that I came here on a warship. Considering that I have never even spoken to you before, it was pretty obvious by your statement that you found my ship in the forest and are now hiding it in a place that was probably lined with lead." Superman smiled to himself as Celestia's pupils shrunk, because he hit the nail on the head. The guards looked at her nervously, while she did her best to hide the surprise. It wasn't that hard to figure out. When he had been scanning the castle up on the mountain, he had come across a room that he couldn't see into. Considering that he had practically scanned the whole globe, he could reasonably guess that his ship was in there. Delicacy prevented him from simply tearing into the room and taking it back.
"Well then, if you know we have the ship, then you should also know that it is armed to the teeth with weapons and destructive potential. Why are there such items aboard your vessel?" Celestia asked him in a threatening manner.
"The weapons are there for my protection," he said with a shrug. "Not that I need them." He didn't know why, but as he said this, Celestia's eyes narrowed and she glared at him.
"So what you're saying is that you don't need your weapons to conquer us. That we are so weak and defenseless that you could easily take control of our world if you wanted." Superman raised an eyebrow at her. Where the heck did that come from?
"Ma'am you're mistaken. I have no desire to--"
"Then you underestimate us greatly. I have the power to throw you into the sun." Wait a minute, was Superman hallucinating or did her eyes just flash green--a green similar to the color that the hydra had? Something was amiss. Time to stop being so nice...
"For some one who is afraid of my power, you really want to be the one to make me stronger?" he said with a smile, waiting for her reaction. As he expected, her temper only increased and she snarled at him again.
"Then how about the moon, I heard it's lovely this time of year!" she retorted. Superman smiled at that as well.
"That's fine with me, it's only a short flight away."
"How did you survive my magic? It is the strongest in the land."
"I moved out of the way. With the speeds at which I can fly, that spell of yours looked like it was moving in super slow motion." He was getting to her, he could feel it. She began to snarl again and he could see the magic beginning to form on her horn. A quick glance at the two guards showed that they too were surprised by her behavior, confirming his belief. Something was wrong with the princess. He was preparing to bring her down when the hospital door opened again and the ponies he had met earlier walked in. Twilight, Rainbow and the CMC all looked at Superman and Celestia in confusion, wondering why they were glaring at each other.
"Um, Princess, what's going on?" Twilight asked. Celestia's eyes flashed back to normal and she shook her head once.
"Oh...nothing, Twilight, I was just talking with Superman here," she said with a smile. This change in personality was not lost on Superman, his eyes narrowing. She wasn't trying to hide her angry side, it was like her personality had done "a one eighty"--completely changed around to the opposite direction.
"Yes, just talking," Superman said with a smile. "Your friend's down there." He jerked his thumb towards the back room where Applejack's surgery was being performed. The ponies smiled at him and ran down the hallway to where Applejack was, all except for Applebloom, who stood awkwardly in front of him.
"Um...thanks fer saving mah sister...and the town...and everypony in it," she said with a small smile, walking over to him and wrapping a hug around his leg. Superman couldn't help but smile and patted her on the back. She let go and raced down the hall to her sister's side, leaving Superman to continue speaking with Celestia.
"Well that was nice of her," Superman uttered aloud. Celestia looked back at him and shook her head again, seeming to have difficulty keeping her focus. She looked at him and he noticed that her eyes were their regular color now.
"Yes, I suppose. I must go now, thank you for your time." Celestia stood up and exited the hospital, still shaking her head. The two guards turned and followed her, casting one last glance at Superman before they left. Superman watched her go, not sure how to proceed. He knew that something was up, but it would be a very bad idea to bring down this planet's ruler based on theories. His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that the purple one, Twilight, was heading back over to where he was sitting.
"Shouldn't you be with your friend?" he asked. She flinched and looked back to Applejack's room before taking a seat across the table from him. She started eyeing him just like Celestia had done earlier, making assumptions about him before even getting to know him. He braced himself for another interesting talk.
"Why Spandex?" she asked. Superman was taken aback. Of all the questions he had expected her to ask, that was not one of them. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile, hints of jest in her eyes.
"The suit is designed on what my race wore back on my home planet. It is sort of a way to remember them," he explained a little awkwardly. "It's designed on the pattern of clothing that my father wore." Twilight looked at him in a new state of interest, pulling a notebook out of thin air and begining to write down what he said.
"You said what your race wore, not wears. Does that mean your home is...?"
"Yes, my home world was destroyed when I was a baby," he said with a sigh. He didn't want to tell them this much about himself so soon, but if telling them the truth got them to trust him, then it was for the best. "My father built a ship for me so I could escape and shot me across the stars in my planet's final seconds to a small planet called Earth. It is my adopted home now." He watched Twilight take notes furiously, smoke rising from her quill as she wrote so fast. After she had finished writing, she realized what his words meant and looked at him with sympathy.
"You're an orphan?"
"Yes, but I have been well-accepted on my new home world, and I am admired to a degree," he replied humbly.
"So...why are you here then?"
"Because your princess has my spaceship and won't give it back," he said with a small laugh. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.
"Really?"
"Well that's part of it, but there have been so many ponies in danger since I got here that I've spent a lot of my time helping out. I've saved the Cutie Mark Crusaders at least twice now," he said with another sigh, remembering their antics. "Do thay always get in that much trouble?"
"Unfortunatly," Twilight said with a sigh as well. "So you're a super hero, huh?"
"Yes, I am a super hero."
"With incredible powers beyond anything we've ever seen?" she asked suspiciously.
"Yes," he answered with some hesitation.
"And we could do nothing to stop you?"
"I have a feeling that this conversation is starting to head the wrong direction."
Twilight stared at him for a good minute before asking her next question. "Are you here to rule us?" Superman rolled his eyes at her. Why was everyone asking him that question? He gave an "unbelieving" look to the pony, noticing that she too had a unicorn horn and wings. Wait a second, Celestia had both as well. Ah.
"You're a friend of Celestia's, aren't you?" he asked with a smile. Twilight's eyes widened and she slowly backed up from the table.
"How...?"
"Because she asked me, or implied, the same thing only a few minutes ago. By the way, keep an eye on her, something's not right with her." Twilight blew off his warning, but was surprised to see just how observant he was. "But to answer your question: no, I have no intention of ruling your or any other world. I'm here to help," he said with certainty, looking Twilight in the eyes. She flinched and looked away, unable to share the stare.
"G-glad to hear it. But you could rule us if you wanted to?" Superman was beginning to get annoyed, tired of being asked if he were there to rule them. What did he have to do in order to get these ponies to trust him?
"If I wanted to, but I would never--"
"And we couldn't stop you?" she asked quickly.
"I don't know about that, but--"
"Have you ever used your powers to overthrow a ruler before?" she asked, her questions getting faster.
"Yes, once or twice, but that's not the--"
"So you might do the same with Celestia or--"
"Can you please stop with these questions?" he asked with a sigh, bringing his hand down onto the table gently. Despite controlling his powers the best he could, he still slammed the table into the ground beyond the point where it could be pulled out. Twilight looked down at it with wide eyes while Superman put his palm to his face.
"That didn't help my cause, did it?" he asked.
"Uh-uh," Twilight responded. Superman was about to make another try to prove he was there to help, when the door to the hospital once again opened and a pony that both of them knew walked in.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight cried out in joy, walking over to her. Luna smiled at Twilight before looking over at Superman.
"So we meet again, Superman," she said with a smile, extending a hoof. Twilight looked between the two of them in disbelief as Superman stood up and walked over to shake her hoof.
"You know him?" Twilight practically shouted, looking at Luna is disbelief.
"Yes, we met last night. I must admit, my reaction was similar to yours at first. But I came to realize that he is what he says he is. He is simply here to help," she told Twilight with a smile. "So, have you met the others?" Luna asked him.
"Yes, I've met your sister," he said with a smirk. Luna sighed and face hoofed.
"She tried to accuse you of being an invader here, didn't she?" Luna asked. Superman nodded. Luna removed her hoof from her face and sat down on one of the chairs, barely giving a glance to the table crushed into the floor. "Please forgive her, we've had a bad history with super beings in Equestria, with Discord and Sombra to name a few. I assure you, she doesn't mean it personally."
"That's good to hear, but I need to ask you something about her. Do her eyes usually glow green when she gets angry at someone?" he asked, his concern audible in his voice. Luna turned to look at him, confusion written on her face.
"Green eyes? Are you positive that they were green?" she asked in a slightly worried tone. Superman nodded once again, causing Luna to get back up and pace. "Those who have green eyes would belong to either Sombra or Chrysalis, but neither of them have been spotted in some time. Also, they could not get past the magical enchantments that we have stationed around Canterlot," she muttered to herself, pacing back and forth. "Is it possible that you only believed her eyes were green?"
"While it's unlikely, I must admit that it is possible. They didn't stay green long, just for a second." Luna didn't like the sound of that. While Celestia did have a bit of a temper (Luna was one of the very few that very knew about it) her eyes had never flashed green during any of those times. Was Superman telling the truth? He had no reason to lie to them, as he actually seemed to care about them. But that had to wait, now she had some questions for him.
"So," she began with a sigh, sitting back down, "What happened out there?"
"Well, your highness," Twilight began, "it started off with the festival going smoothly, with many of the participants showing up. The festival got off to a great start, with the annual judging and everything. That's when things started to head south." Twilight took in a breath, remembering the tragedy that had only just happened. "A massive hydra came out of the forest and started to destroy the town. The others and I tried to stop it, but it was just too powerful. It got to the point where we could only watch as it tried to bring its foot down on the CMC. We couldn't do anything." Twilight broke off at this point, all the destruction vivid in her memory.
"Yes, and then?" Luna asked softly.
"That's where I came in. I heard the three call out for help while I was over a desert, so I flew over as quickly as I could. I got there just before the hydra brought its foot down on them," Superman finished for Twilight.
"How did you stop the hydra?" Luna asked. Superman gave her a look.
"By catching its foot before it could stomp down," he replied with a shrug. Luna had to catch her jaw to keep it from hitting the floor. He had lifted a hydra's foot by himself? Just how strong was he?
"G-go on."
"After that, I dragged the creature into the outer stratosphere to try and get it to calm down." Luna's jaw did hit the floor at this point. "But I found that it was being controlled, and whoever was controlling it had no more interest in it after it had been beaten. After that, I dropped the hydra off on an island and flew back to Ponyville...only to find that I was too late." Luna blinked and looked into Superman's eyes as he said this. Was it her, or did she see...regret and sorrow in them?
"By the time I returned, many ponies had already died or been injured. But worst of all, Applejack had taken a blast for her sister, a fatal blast. Luckily I found that her heart had only stopped, so I scooped her up and flew to the nearest thunderstorm to try and restart her heart." Luna could only nod to indicate for Superman to go on.
"While in the storm, I flew into lightning bolts and absorbed the brunt of the blast myself, allowing the electrical shock to go through my body into hers, which let the current reach heart without her getting hit with the full force of the lighting. It took a few tries, but I was finally able to get her heart started again. After she was breathing, I dropped her off at this hospital. The rest, I'm sure you know." Luna and Twilight didn't know what to say. They didn't want to believe that he could perform all those feats with ease, but the evidence was too great to ignore. Twilight finished taking notes while Luna looked at him curiously. He was a potential threat...but he could be an even greater ally.
"Well then, from what you have told me I believe I owe you two things. The first is an explanation: I told Celestia that I saw a strange vessel enter the Everfree forest and told her where it landed. So in a way I am responsible for the loss of your ship." Superman raised an eyebrow, but shrugged with a grin. It wasn't like he didn't know where it was anyway. "The second thing I owe you...is a thank you," Luna said, taking a deep bow in front of him. Twilight went wide-eyed and slacked-jawed at the sight of her princess bowing to somepony else, but Superman shook his head and offered her his hand.
"I appreciate the thanks, but no one needs to bow to me," he told her, grabbing the hoof she had extended and pulling her to her hooves. "I'm just happy to help." He turned his super sense toward the room where Applejack rested, noticing that she was beginning to wake up. "Alright, Applejack's finally awake. How about we go say 'hi'?" He stood up and walked down the hallway to her room, leaving two alicorns with two very different opinions about him behind. Twilight believed that he should be monitored and kept close to a princess at all times, for safety. Luna believed that she had finally found somepony else to protect her subjects with her during the night. Both were right in their own way.
"How's it going?" Superman asked as he pushed open the door to Applejack's room. Applejack looked over at him from her bed and gave him a weak smile, whereas Rainbow Dash cast him a cold look. The CMC bounded over to him, except for Applebloom, who stayed by her sister.
"Hi Superman! What did Celestia want?" Sweetie Belle asked eagerly.
"She just wanted to ask me a few questions and have a talk," he responded smiling, watching them bounce in place.
"Yeah, about getting shipped off our planet," Rainbow muttered under her breath so nopony could hear.
"No, Rainbow, that wasn't it. But what happened out there isn't important," he smiled, turning to Applejack. "How are you feeling?" he asked her. When he tried to get close though, Rainbow Dash put herself between him and Applejack.
"Sorry. Close friends only," she snorted.
"Aw come on, Rainbow, don't be like that. He only did save me and mah sister, along with the rest of Ponyville," AJ said, wincing as she tried to sit up. " Ah reckon that makes him a friends of ours." Rainbow Dash looked between the two before slowly backing away from the bedside. Superman walked past her and sat down beside Applebloom at Applejack's bedside.
"So, feeling any better?" he asked.
"Yeah, the doctors expect me to make a full recovery, but no physical activities fer a while. That's gonna make the farm work more difficult for Big Mac and Applebloom, but it wouldn't be the first time one of us got injured," she said with a small smile. The smile turned into a wince and she laid back against the pillows. "The doc says that ah probably would've bled out if you hadn't stopped the bleeding. That was a minor concern considering that ah was already dead. So ah should thank ya fer saving me."
"No need, I'm just happy to help. Also," he said softly, looking over at Applebloom, "I'm glad I was able to help keep a family's home together." Applebloom gave him a grateful grin, as did Applejack.
"And speaking of homes" Luna said as she and Twilight walked into the room, "Where will you be sleeping tonight, Superman?"
"I'll probably be sleeping in the upper atmosphere, close to space. I'd be able to keep an eye on everyone up there."
"Oh no ya don't. You can't just save me and mah family's lives and expect us not to return the favor. You can sleep in mah family's barn for as long as you need to," Applejack offered.
"That sounds good. Superman, would you mind staying with Applejack's family for a while?" Luna asked him. He thought about it for a second before smiling.
"Sure, I'm fine with that. Living on a farm again will bring back old memories."
"Good, now that everypony is in agreement, I must go and make a full report back at Canterlot. I am not looking forward to the paper work," she said with a groan, casting a magic bubble around herself and vanishing in a flash. All the others watched her go before beginning to head their separate ways themselves.
"Well, I'll see all of you later," Twilight said. "I have a lot of reshelving to do and I bet Spike is looking forward to it." She left with a smile, clapping her hooves together before teleporting out herself.
"Yeah, I got to get some z's. See you all," Rainbow Dash chirped. Superman noticed that she looked right at him when she said this, "later." With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash flew down the hallway and out of the hospital. Superman looked down at the three fillies that had been left behind.
"How about I take you all home?" They all looked at him and nodded in agreement. He looked to Applejack, who nodded as well.
"Yeah, ah'm cleared to go home. But ah can't walk there mahself. Little help?" she asked, holding out her fore hooves. Superman smiled and scooped Applejack into his arms before looking down at the other three.
"So, how would the three of you like to fly in the air with Superman?" The three fillies' eyes lit up and they all agreed simultaneously. He crouched down and allowed the three to climb onto his back. Once they were there, he walked out of the hospital and bent his legs for take off, jumping lightly into the air so the others could hold on. Once they were airborne, he headed off to Ponyville.
{-----+-----}
After dropping off Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Superman carried Applejack and Applebloom on his shoulders back to their farm. The sun was setting off in the distance, and thanks to the efforts of Celestia and Luna, Ponyville was on its way to recovery (Celestia didn't want Superman to help, but there wasn't much she could do to stop him). While they walked, Applebloom told Superman about her days in school and what the CMC did for fun, while Applejack rested the best she could. Superman had decided to walk to the farm so that the ponies could get to know him better.
"...So then the whole town hated us, so we had to stand up to Diamond Tiara in order to clear our names," Applebloom finished, telling Superman of one of her group's adventures. Superman nodded with a smile, happy to hear how the three handled Diamond Tiara.
"That was good of you. Standing up to bullies without the use of violence is the best way. Violence should only be used as a last resort. Remember that."
"Is that why ya didn't flatten Celestia back there?" Applebloom asked him with a smile.
"Like I said, stand up to bullies, but only use violence as a last resort. There was no need for me to 'flatten' her," he said with a smile. Applejack, who had been sleeping, finally spoke up.
"It's gonna be hard having to rest while mah family does all the work. There has to be something ah can do." Applebloom shook her head and gave her sister a stare.
"You heard what the doctor said, no physical labor until you're healed!"
"Alright, alright, ah was just thinkin' out loud," she mumbled. "Sure gonna be tough on the farm for a few weeks."
"I'm more than willing to help if you want," Superman offered. Applejack immediately declined, telling him that he was their guest and he wouldn't need to do any work for them. The two argued about it for a minute before Superman won the debate.
"I'm going to help out, unless you think you can stop me?" he teased, raising an eyebrow at Applejack. She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it with a chuckle.
"Alright, but ya take orders from me, got it?" she teased back.
"That's fine with me," he said with a smile as the barn came into view. Tomorrow would be very interesting.
[===]]]
At the hidden Canterlot Hall, Celestia and a group of scientists were doing their best to crack the code on the ship. They had spent nearly two full days trying to hack into it. Its technology was light-years ahead of their time, but with the aid of magic they were able to get inside the computer. The wealth of information they found inside was incredible, but what they were after was what was behind the encrypted part of the computers.
"Alright, let's try this again," Celestia muttered, channeling her magic through her horn. The magic flowed into the computer, entering its systems and starting to hack into its secure files. The other unicorns added their power to the computer as well, and after a few minutes of tough mental concentration, the computer finally gave. The other scientists cheered while Celestia walked up to the computer, watching as it turned on.
"Let's see what secrets you hold, Superman." She flipped through the files on the computers, beginning to learn about everything--from why Superman was flying through space in the first place, to what the Earth was, and where it was located. The last bit interested her greatly. A spell from of old came to mind and a slow smile spread across her face while her eyes flashed green.
"I wonder what your home world has to say about you...hero."