//------------------------------// // What Really Matters // Story: Whenever You Call // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Despite his amazing powers and x-ray vision, Superman was unable to find Chrysalis, something that annoyed him more than it did the ponies. He had returned to Ponyville the next day with a shake of his head, telling them that he had failed to find her. He and the other ponies had met outside of a local restaurant. The girls had already placed their orders when he arrived. While the ponies were disappointed, Celestia was amused, glad to see that he was not perfect. "So what do we do know?" Fluttershy asked, once the princesses had gathered all the Elements together. "If I know Chrysalis, and I do, she'll try to take Canterlot again soon," Luna said with a sigh. "Despite Superman's best efforts, most of the changelings managed to escaped. It's only a matter of time before they regroup and try another attack." "Yes, Superman, why did you not trap all of the changlings while you were beating Chrysalis?" Celestia asked with a smirk. "Because I was too busy saving you," Superman shot back with a smile. Celestia frowned at him, but at that moment Superman heard something off in the distance and he let out a groan. "The girls?" Rainbow Dash asked. "The girls," Superman confirmed, going airborne and flying towards the mountain. "Ah really need to talk to them about getting in tah dangerous situations," Applejack said with a sigh, picking up her apple sandwhich and taking a bite. "They get into trouble way too often." "Thank goodness Superman's watching over them," Rarity said. "So what do you all think of Superman?" Celestia asked them quietly, interested to see if Superman had pulled the wool over their eyes as well. "Do you like him?" "I think he's alright," Twilight said first. "I mean, yeah, he's really powerful and all, but he's really nice and we'd have been in some real trouble if he hadn't been here. I'm glad that we have him here." "Ah have to agree with Twi, ah'm glad he's around," Applejack agreed, talking with her mouth full and making Rarity glare at her. "If it wasn't fer him, mah sister and her friends would've been dead by now, along with me. "I like him, he seems nice," Fluttershy said with a small smile, hiding behind her water. "His terrible taste in clothing aside, he is quite the gentleman," Rarity said with a bit of a sigh. "Oh, if only he were a stallion." "Rarity's creepy feelings aside, I guess he's not all bad," Rainbow Dash said with a sigh, her face blushing when she realized all her friends were looking at her. "But one day I will outrace him! He only barely beat me last time!" "You mean he left you in the dust," Pinkie said with a grin, ignoring the look RD gave her. "I like him too, he's one of my bestest friends!" "Pinkie, everypony's your bestest friend," Twilight pointed out. "Yeah, I know! Isn't it great!" "I agree with them, I like him to," Luna added. Celestia sighed inwardly, seeing how easily her subjects and her own sister had fallen for his lies. Lex told her that Superman acts all nice at first, but his rage was terrifying when others opposed him. She hoped that Lex's ally arrived before that happened. The ponies were continuing to talk when a massive explosion shook the land. They all looked up towards a mountain in the distance, which turned out to be a volcano and had just erupted. They were just beginning to talk about what to do when a red blur flew away from the volcano and came back a moment later with a massive boulder. Superman blew ice breath into the volcano to freeze the lava before putting the boulder into the volcano's mouth. He then flew down and picked up three small fillies and flew them back to the town. He landed next to the ponies, with three fillies covered in ash in his arms and a frown on his face. "Lava surfing? Really?" he asked them as he set the three of them down on the ground. "I'm starting to think that this is less about trying to find your cutie marks and more about seeing how fast I'll arrive to save you." "We're sorry, Superman, we just thought that lava surfing could be our special talent," Scootaloo said with a sniffle, looking down at the ground. "Don't worry Superman, ah can guaranty you that they won't be getting in anymore trouble," Applejack said to him, walking over to the fillies and glaring at them. "Because after they go home and take a bath, they're all grounded for a week." "But that's not fair! We were just--" "Lava surfing. Yer lucky yer just getting grounded," Applejack said in a deadpan tone. "Now go home and wash yerselves off. We'll be there soon." The three fillies grumbled to themselves as they walked off, letting Superman sit down. A disappointed Applejack looked at him and quietly said, "Ah'm awfully sorry about that. Ah don't know what's gotten into them; they used to do only slightly dangerous things." "It happens back in my world too," Superman said. "The people there no longer fear danger because I'm there to catch them if they fall. They just probably think that I'll show up to save them whenever they're in trouble." "And would ya?" "Of course." Superman looked at Pinkie and noticed that she seemed to be practically bouncing up and down in her seat, trying to contain excitement. "Yes Pinkie, is there something you wish to tell me?" he asked her. "No, there's nothing I want to say. Nothing at all," she said, avoiding eye contact. Superman knew that she was lying but didn't want to intrude. He instead steered the conversation to other topics. "I noticed that the ponies of Equestria reacted to me as if they've never seen a superhero before. Am I the first superhero in Equestria then?" he asked them, not noticing Celestia glaring at the "S" on his chest. "Well, yes and no. Unlike your world, ponies have always lived with the knowlege that some of us can fly while others can use magic. But you are right in saying that nopony has ever put on a cape and spandex and tried to save the world," Twilight answered. "Unless you count the wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash added in. "They fly around wearing spandex and helping others." "Technically they aren't actually superheroes, so much as super-fast guards," Twilight countered. "Yes, but their outfits are nowhere near as hideous as yours," Rarity added in, trying to avoid looking at his outfit. "This outfit was created to mimic what my parents wore on Krypton, it's not meant to be seen as spandex," Superman said with a sigh. "By the way, who are the Wonderbolts? I've heard you mention them once before, but I still haven't been introduced." "The Wonderbolts are only the fastest, coolest, best flying ponies in all of Equestria!" Rainbow Dash recited, going fan mare. "Not only that, but they hold some of the coolest races in all of Equestria! Nopony's faster or better fliers than them!" "No one?" Superman teased. She rolled her eyes and muttered something about almost the fastest. "From the way you talk about them, it seems like you worship them. I'd like to meet them." "Um...sure, they have a training ground really high in the sky. It's just a little that ways," RD said quickly, pointing out which way to go before hiding her face behind her drink. Superman raised an eyebrow at her reaction. The boastful and proud Rainbow Dash was embarrassed to see her heroes? Now he knew he had to go see them. "Alright then, I'll go see them," he said, getting out of his chair. "And don't worry Rainbow, I'll put in a good word for you too." He took off into the sky towards where she had pointed for him to go, flying at a much slower pace than normal. He smiled to himself when he heard the sound of wingbeats behind him, and he when he stopped to turn, he smiled as he saw RD trying to keep up with him. "I, uh, thought you might get lost, so I came to show you the way," she said with an awkward smile, her eyes looking to the left and right. Superman raised another eyebrow, but grinned and floated to her side, making a small bow, indicating for her to take the lead. She flew off and he followed close behind, looking around as he did so. There was an object in the distance that looked like a city in the clouds that interested him. "That's Cloudsdale," Rainbow said when he pointed it out to her. "It's where all the pegasi live." "But no other types of ponies?" he asked with a frown. "It's not like that; pegasi are the only kind of ponies that can walk on or grab clouds. And just because you can fly doesn't mean that you can touch them," she said with a playful smile. "That's where me and most of the pegasi live. Fluttershy's one of the few exceptions, because she likes to be by her animals." Superman looked at the city with interest, noticing that rainbows and different kinds of clouds were floating out of it. "You know what, I've changed my mind," he told her, turning and flying towards Cloudsdale. "I'd like to see your home." "Hey wait! What about the Wonderbolts?" she cried out after him. "They can wait. Not like they're going anywhere." RD sighed and took off after him. Despite his status as a hero, he seemed to be very curious and liked to see new things. The two of them floated over Cloudsdale for a second before descending. Superman looked around at all the houses, intrigued to find that they too were made out of clouds. In fact, everything here was made out of clouds. Rainbow Dash landed on the cloud top while Superman hovered just above it, certain that he'd fall through the clouds if he touched down. "Alright, if you want a tour so badly, we can start with the rainbow factory," Rainbow Dash said, pointing at the cloud factory in the distance. "That's where we make the clouds and rainbows for all the skies." "Pegasi can make clouds?" "Well, yeah. Don't you humans make clouds as well?" she asked him. "No, the weather in my world is natural. No one has control over it...for the most part." He was surprised to see that this bit of news shocked her a bit. "Why, is all the weather in your world controlled?" "Most of it. The Everfree Forest is the only place where the weather is uncontrollable," she said. "Actually, nothing in the Everfree Forest can be controlled. It's all...natural." The two of them had been walking/floating through the streets as they talked, gaining many looks from the locals. Those who knew who Superman was looked at him with awe and wonder. The few who didn't looked at him in confusion, noticing that he was floating but couldn't find his wings. The entrance to the rainbow factory had a cloud gate in front of it and a sign that read that the factory was temporarily closed. "Aw, they must be cleaning it again," she said with a sigh. "Oh well, we can go see the Wonderbolts now." She turned around and her face took on a look of disgust. "Great, these three." Superman looked to see what she was glaring at. Three pegasi had spotted her and walked over. "Well, look who it is," one of the pegasi said, sneering at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow CRASH!" The three of them began laughing at the pathetic excuse of an insult, which caused RD to seeth. "That was a good one, Hoops," the smallest of the group said. "Of course it was, Score," the one called Hoops bragged. "I'm a genius after all." "You know them?" Superman asked her. "Yeah, these three idiots are Hoops, Dumb-Bell and Score," Rainbow Dash said with a frown. "They were school bullies that never grew out of the whole bullying phase. They're still just as dumb as they were when they were in pre-school, though." "Hey! I am not dumb, that just happens to be my name!" the one called Dumb-Bell protested, which made Superman smile a bit at the irony. "And at least I don't have as dumb a name as yours, Rainbow Crash!" "It's Dash!" Rainbow growled, starting to advance towards them. "And I have half a mind to-" Superman placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. "Let it go, Dash. They just want to rile you up for their amusment," he told her. "Their words mean nothing, just let it go." With his hand still on her shoulder, he escorted her past the three of them, who still taunted her as she left. "Aw, what's the matter, Crash? Supermane has to fight your battles now? Just what I'd expect from a chicken!" Rainbow Dash turned and tried to go after them, but there was no escaping Superman's grip. He continued to move her forward until they were far away from the three. "Why did you do that?!" she yelled once he let go of her. "Now all of them will think I'm a chicken who won't fight back!" "And why should you care?" he asked. "Are you a chicken?" "What? No, I'm not a chicken." "Are you a great flier?" "Yeah, the best!" "Then you have nothing to say to them. Let your actions speak for you instead of your words." Rainbow Dash looked at him like he was crazy and went back to glaring at the ponies. Superman sighed and knelt down in front of her, still levitating himself. "Rainbow Dash, if you spend your whole life trying to please everyone, you'll end up pleasing nobody." "What's that mean?" "It means just be yourself and stop caring what others think of you. You are a fast pony with a good heart. Nothing they say can change that." "That's easy for you to say, everypony on your planet probably loves you," she said with a sigh and flew off towards the Wonderbolts' Academy. He shook his head and flew after her. She had no idea how wrong she was. Just as many people hated him as much as they loved him. He spent most of his earlier career trying to convince the people of Earth that he was on their side and wasn't a threat to their lives. "Alright, the Academy is right up here and then we can--" Before she could finish talking, Superman turned on a dime and shot off towards the ground. Rainbow called out to him and followed as best she could, but Superman was moving much faster than she was. He landed back at Ponyville and came skidding to a halt under cloud with his arms out, just in time to catch a grey pegasus as she fell. The grey mare looked around in confusion before her eyes rested on the smiling face of Superman. He noticed that her eyes didn't face the same direction, but they both reflected thankfulness. He gently placed her on the ground with a smile. She smiled back and reached inside her mail bag, pulling out a muffin for him. He accepted her gift with a smile and watched as she flew off...into the side of a building. "She's accident prone, isn't she?" Superman asked Rainbow Dash, who had just now caught up with him. She glared at him while he took a bite out of the muffin and waved to the ponies that stared at him. "Why'd you fly back here? Now we're even farther from the Academy," Rainbow Dash grumbled, turning back towards where they had come from. "Derpy would've been fine, she falls and crashes into things all the time." "That's not the point. Since we both have special skills, we should always--hold on," Superman said quickly as he flew off in the opposite direction once again. RD growled and flew off after him, wondering where he was always flying off to. She caught up with him as he floated above a school yard, looking down with a frown upon the foals there. A small grey unicorn was cowering from two other ponies, one of whom was a pink filly with a crown and a grey filly with a glasses. "My mom is not a freak!" the grey filly yelled at the two fillies across from her. They began to laugh at her and walked over to look her in the eyes. "Oh really? Then why do neither of her eyes face the same direction?" the pink one asked with a sneer. "T-that's because-" "Or why is she always crashing into things?" the grey pony with the glasses asked in a mocking tone. The grey unicorn didn't answer, but both RD and Superman could see the tears running down her face. "How dare they say that about Derpy," RD said with a growl. "She's one of the kindest ponies I know! We've got to teach them a...Superman?" While Rainbow Dash had been talking, Superman had floated down over the ponies and watched. His x-ray showed him that the teacher was still inside dealing with other students, leaving these three on their own. He shook his head and decided to intervene. "That is enough." All three of the fillies screamed and spun around to look at him as he floated down, landing between the two groups. He walked over to the grey unicorn and knelt down, gently reaching over and wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" "N-no," she whimpered, moving her head away from his hand. "What are you doing here?" the pink one asked, stepping forward to confront him. "Don't you have a hydra to fight or something?" she asked with a grin, thinking she had been clever. Superman turned to face her with a stern glare, which knocked some of her arrogance out of her. "I always go where I'm needed and some one needs help," Superman told them, crossing his arms and frowning. "I hope you know that what you're doing is hurtful and wrong. I try to tolerate everyone, but I can't tolerate bullies." "And I can't tolerate freaks," the pony said with a sneer as she turned to Dinky. "Just like your mom. Or you. You're just a coward after all." "I am not a coward!" Dinky shot back. "One day I'll do something brave like..." "What take on a supervillian?" Tiara asked. "You're not brave, you're a coward." "She is not a coward!" The pink pony sighed as RD landed beside Superman and glared at the pony. "I knew that you were a brat, Diamond Tiara, but I didn't know that you could be so cruel. After everything that Derpy and Dinky have gone through, I would have thought that even you would show some compassion. I have half a mind to--" "You're right, you do have half a mind," Tiara said with a nasty grin. RD snorted in rage and considered smacking the filly, but Superman put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Besides, her mom's not the only freak here. You're a freak too, Supermane." She smiled at him while she said this, but Superman just looked at her with a hard stare. He then smiled and looked past her. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." The two ponies flinched when they heard the voice and slowly turned to find a magenta pony standing behind them with an angry glare. "I thought that I had warned you in the past about bullying the other students. Apparently you need to be taught a lesson again. For three weeks you will stay after class and help clean up the school." Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started to complain, but one glare from the teacher shut them both up. She pointed to the red school and the two marched over with their heads hung low, Tiara giving Superman one last glare before leaving. "Thank you for showing up, Rainbow Dash," the teacher said with a sigh. "I don't know what to do with those two, they just don't seem to learn." "It's not your fault," Rainbow said, eyeing the two as they walked into the school house. "Some ponies are born evil." "Well, thanks for stopping that. Now if you'll excuse me, it's now five and Sugarcube Corners is giving out a new kind of sweet," Cheerilee said with a smile and headed off into town. "Gah! Did you hear that Superman? It's five, which means the Wonderbolts will be wrapping up for today!" She said with a bit of panic. "Come on, if we go now we can still watch them finish!" she said, springing into the air. Superman nodded and went to take off after her, but a small grey hoof on his foot stopped him. "Um, e-excuse me, Mr. Supermane, but Diamond Tiara hid my doll and I can't find it," the filly told him nervously, unable to look him in the eyes. "W-would you help me find it?" Rainbow Dash answered, "Sorry, kid, but we've got to get to the Wonder--" "I would love to help you find it," Superman said with a grin, cutting RD off. He did a quick scan of the area with his x-ray vision and quickly found the doll in a mud pit by the playground. He scooped it up and held it out to the pony, but her eyes teared up when she saw the shape it was in. "Don't worry, I can fix it," Superman told her with another smile and used his super breath to quickly blow all the mud off of her doll. He handed the now mudfree doll to the small pony, who grabbed it and held it close. "Well, we missed the Wonderbolts because of you," RD said with a sigh, landing next to him and shaking her head. "All because you had to help her find a stupid doll." "Maybe you're right, maybe that doll didn't mean anything to us," Superman began, watching as the filly began to play with her doll. "In fact, helping her find that doll probably doesn't even matter from a world view." "Glad to see we agree," Rainbow Dash said. The grey filly walked over to Superman and looked at her hooves. "Um, t-thank you for finding my doll. My daddy gave this to me when I was little, before he...passed away." Rainbow's face fell while Superman smiled gently and told her she was welcome. As she ran off to the town, Superman turned to face Rainbow Dash with a smile on his face. "But just because that filly's doll didn't mean anything to the world, that doesn't mean it still didn't mean the world to that filly." "How did you know that the doll was a gift from her father?" Rainbow asked in amazment as Superman got back to his feet. "I didn't. But it doesn't matter whether that doll was a gift from a departed relative or just something she bought at the store. I never turn down a cry for help, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem," he told her with a smile. "By helping others we help to make the world a better place. And that's all that really matters." Rainbow Dash looked at Superman with a newfound sense of awe and respect. If what he was saying were true, then he devoted every day to helping others, no matter how busy or how trivial the problem was. He had already saved all of Equestria and their lives twice in the past few days, but never once had asked for reward or thanks. He was simpy content with helping others. That was his reward. "Superman, I..." Superman looked back at Rainbow Dash, whose jaw was on the ground, but her eyes were on the sky, wide with terror and amazement. Superman looked up as well, wondering what she saw. His eyes widened as they saw it too, his heartbeat increased to unbelievably fast levels and memories came flooding back. Rainbow Dash watched as Superman took a few steps back ,reading the shock written on his face. "Superman? Do you know this thing?" Rainbow asked him. "Yes, I know him well," Superman said with terrror, clenching his fists and preparing for a fight. "Braniac."