"...And as we lay this pony to rest, we pray that Faust takes her to the great castle in the sky, where she will find happiness," a pony said as he finished reading, walking to the side, as the coffin was placed in the hole dug for Derpy at the cemetery. Ponies did their best to contain their tears, except for a small grey unicorn that was crying into the arms of a brown pony with an hour glass on his flank. Everypony in town had come to the funeral while Superman floated overhead, unable to face the ponies. Superman had left halfway through the ceremony due to some danger far away, but nopony really noticed. Afterwards, Pinkie had a massive party in the center of town to try and take the ponies' minds off of what happened. It took her a full five hours to get it all ready. She had put the 'S' symbol on all of the banners and balloons, she helped the Cakes make one of the most delicious cakes ever seen, and all the Elements had shown up for it. There was only one problem: Superman didn't show.
"WHERE COULD HE BE?" Pinkie roared, running back and forth with rage in her eyes. Her friends were seated at a table beside her and watched her as she flipped out. "He couldn't have gotten lost; he can fly, for the love of brownies!"
"I don't know, Pinkie. My magic can't find him," Twilight said with a sigh, stopping her finder's spell. "He hasn't been the same since the Brainiac attack. He seems more...distant than before. Do you think he's hurt?"
"Ah think he just needs some time to himself," Applejack said with a shrug. "Fighting one of yer toughest foes has to take it out of ya."
"I do hope that he is alright, but since he's not here to take up the press's attention," Rarity began with a grin, leaving her seat and walking over to the newspaper ponies. The others watched her begin to show off her newest dress with a smile, glad to see that at least one of them was enjoying themselves. But while the others chuckled, Rainbow Dash was the only one of them who didn't join in on the fun. She had tried to talk to Superman after yesterdays events, but he had just ignored her and flew off, barely mentioning a fire somewhere. She had never seen him look so upset...and so defeated.
"Do ya want us to get in trouble?" Applebloom asked as she and the rest of the CMC walked up to the ponies. "He always comes whenever we get in trouble."
"No, but thank you for offering," Twilight said with a smile. Ponies around them had decided to start the party without Superman and had already gotten to the buffet. Pinkie had decided to start the music and gotten the ponies dancing, even though she didn't feel like it. Rainbow Dash stood up and left the table, telling her friends that she needed to go flying. Before they could ask any questions, she launched herself into the sky, sailing across the heavens as she headed off for Mareyland. She knew that Superman went wherever there was trouble, and no place was in more constant danger than Mareyland. It took her only a few minutes to reach the city, flying down to find that she had been right. Ponies in the streets were panicking as Superman battled it out with a giant crab. The fight was completely one sided; the poor crab stood no chance. She watched as he grabbed it by its legs and spun it around, throwing it back into the water.
"That was pretty cool," she said to him as she landed beside him. "That is, if you think beating on crabs is cool." Superman looked back at her without a word before turning back to the crowd that had gathered around him to thank him. He told them that it was no big deal before taking off into the sky. Rainbow Dash sighed and followed after him, sighing as he completely out flew her. She finally caught up with him when he came to a stop in the lower atmosphere, a place that even she didn't come to often.
"So, are you ready to talk?" she asked him. She sighed when he didn't reply. "Maybe about where you've been for the past day or why you won't talk to us?" He didn't answer, just continued to look down upon the world with far away eyes. She growled and flew right in front of his face, waving a hoof in front of his eyes. "Hello? Anypony in there?"
"Huh? Oh, hey Rainbow Dash," he said before turning his gaze back to the planet.
"Superman, what's the matter? You haven't been the same since Brainiac's attack," she asked, trying desperatly to get an answer out of him. He sighed and looked at her with saddened eyes.
"I failed that filly," he said softly. Rainbow Dash frowned, figuring that's what had been bothering him.
"Superman, you were battling an army of creatures that could go hoof to hoof with YOU. There was no way that you could focus on protecting us while fighting Brainiac," she said, trying to comfort him. Superman gave her a look out of the corner of his eye.
"You don't need to tell me about how I can't always save everyone, Ms. Dash, that is a fact I came to grips with years ago," he said sternly. "But I have fought with Brainiac before, I should have known how he would operate and taken appropiate measures to stop him. Instead, I let him surprise me and that pony lost her life because of it."
"You did the best you could," Rainbow Dash said, but Superman glared at her.
"No, I didn't. That's the point!" he roared at her, his anger and frustration boiling to the surface. It was only for a second, but RD was suddenly aware of the rage that Superman held inside of him and it terrified her. "I should have been faster to save her or defeated Brainiac faster! I didn't and now some poor filly is motherless," he said with a choked sob, looking away from RD and looking back on the world. "You have no idea how hard it is for a child to lose a parent."
"No, but I know how hard it is to lose a friend," Rainbow Dash said with a growl. She sneered to herself when Superman looked at her with a startled look on his face.
"She...she was your--?"
"My friend? Yes, she and I have known each other since the flight academy," RD said with a frown, moving closer to Superman's face. "Am I sad that she's gone? Yes. Do I feel terrible for her daughter? Yes. Am I going to let myself get depressed and not talk to my friends? No. Derpy always wanted others to be happy, even if she was sad. And you nearly got yourself killed fighting off the Brainiac and trying to save us all. Instead of focusing on the one life you couldn't save, maybe you should focus on all the lives you did save." Superman looked at her with a raised eyebrow, never expecting her to take that tone with him. He already knew that he shouldn't get upset over failing to save a life, that he should instead devote more energy into making sure it didn't happen again. But here he was getting reminded by one of the most arrogant ponies he knew. And yet she was right.
"Do you know what it's like?" he asked her, continuing on even though she hadn't answered. "To hear it all, all the crying, the pain, the cries for help day in and day out? Do you know what it's like to have the power to change the world for the better...only to wake up the next morning and realize that nothing's changed? There are still cries for help, still people dying and knowing that your best efforts don't seem to do anything? To hear them all cry out for you, only to fail them time after time?" Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say; there was no answer that she could think of that would sound right. She didn't know how he did it, to have all these great powers, yet to be always out there trying to help some pony else. It would break any normal pony.
"I can spin the planets on a finger; I can fly through stars with the greatest of ease: Hell, at one time I could blow away a galaxy just by SNEEZING!" Superman roared to himself as his frustrations came to the surface, Rainbow Dash floating away from him as he raged, "And then something like this happens and I'm reminded of just how powerless I can be," he whispered as he placed his head in his hands. RD didn't know what to do at this point, since she was seeing the side of Superman that few saw. It was him, after he had failed. Without knowing what else to do, she gingerly wrapped a hoof around his shoulder to comfort him.
"It's alright," Rainbow Dash said, her mind turning to another topic. "Um...speaking of death, why did you...kill Brainiac? I thought that went against what you stood for?"
"If only it were that easy," Superman said with a bitter half-laugh. "That is the third time I've burned Braniac to ash. But as long as a bit of him survives somewhere, he will come back to fight another day. He always does."
"Who was Brainiac anyway? I've never seen a pony like him."
"To keep it short, he's a collector of knowledge and he goes throughout the universe trying to gather all the knowledge he can. The reason he destroys planets is because the fewer beings that know about something, the more valuable the knowledge becomes. He has done the same to many different planets and he would have done the same to yours. I did what I had to in order to protect...most of you."
"During the battle, he was calling you Kal-El," Rainbow said with some difficulty, the name sounding weird in her mouth. "What did he mean by that?"
"Kal-El is my real name. My Kryptonian name," Superman replied. "Can you keep that a secret? I don't like the idea of those I don't trust knowing my name."
"Sure. Hey, wait a minute. You said you don't want those you don't trust to know your name, but you told me anyway," Rainbow pointed out. "Does that mean...you trust me?"
"I guess that means I do," Superman said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. His smile then vanished into a frown. "Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if someone else had these powers instead of me, if someone else had to bear the responsibility of being a hero," he whispered before his eyes narrowed, a cry for help reaching his ears. "And then I remember that I am the one with the powers and the responsibility. I need to go."
"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Trouble," Superman replied. "I'll handle this, you go back to Ponyville."
"Please, you'll need me there to bail you out," she replied with an arrogant grin.
"Still arrogant?"
"You know it."
Superman smiled and took off towards the town, flying slowly so that Rainbow Dash could keep up with him. The two came down at a small town near a forest, where fire could be seen coming from a few of the houses. Ponies everywhere were trying to pick up what remained of their homes, with some of them helping injured ponies. Superman and Rainbow Dash landed next to a crying couple, who noticed Superman immediately.
"Superman! Oh thank goodness you're here!" the mare cried out, running over to him. "O-our colt! He was taken by a pair of bandits! He's...he's-"
"Where did they go?" Superman asked, kneeling down to her eye level. "Where did they take him?"
"Into the forest," she said, pointing towards the dark forest. "My husband tried to stop them and he..."
"I'm alright, but I can't move," he replied, showing his clawed leg. "Please, hurry."
"Why did they--?" Rainbow Dash began to ask, but Superman took off towards the forest before any more questions could be asked. She yelled in protest and took off after him, flying as hard as she could to keep up with him. She found him scanning the forest for the bandits.
"So...what's the plan?" she asked him.
"Find the bandits, get the kid," Superman replied, his eyes narrowing and he took off. He spotted them on a cliff near the ocean, cooking over a fire and laughing at what they had done. Superman spotted the colt locked in a cage by the cliff, with a bandit standing by it.
"And he leaves me behind again," she said with a sigh as she flew after him. Superman came crashing down to the ground right in front of the bandits, who had made a camp in the darkest part of the forest.
"I'm only going to say this once," Superman began as the six bandits ran to their weapons. "Let the child go and surrender or this is going to end badly for you." The bandit leader (Superman assumed he was the leader because he was the one to step forward) smiled at him and pointed at the cage.
"One step closer and the kid goes over the edge," he said with a smile. "And since we know that you won't try anything..."
CRACK!
The bandit leaders head snapped back as RD came flying down and kicked him in the jaw, knocking him back. She smiled until Superman yelled at her. The bandit saw the leader go down and pushed with all his might against the cage, pushing the cowering foal over the edge. Superman shot off after him as he fell while RD was left to deal with the bandits.
"Heh, three on one huh? Can't you guys try to make it a challenge?" she asked the three bandits that had circled her. The first one yelled and charged at her. She ducked his hoof strike and caught him under the chin, knocking him out cold. The second one got her from behind and put her in a bear hug. She chuckled and slammed her head into his nose, spinning around once he had let go, and she kicked him below the belt. He fell over with a whimper as the final bandit pulled out a knife and slowly advanced towards RD.
"Oh no, a weapon. My only weakness," she said in a mocking tone. "If only I knew how to fight." She smiled and tried a flying kick...only to have the bandit roll out of the way and kick her in the gut as she passed, knocking her out of the air and to the ground. She groaned as the bandit jumped on top of her, placing the knife at her throat. He brought the knife back to stab her...only to have it grabbed by a hand and crumpled like paper. Superman picked the bandit pony off of her and tossed him into the cage with the rest of the bandits.
"Got a little cocky there, didn't you?" Superman said with a sly smile.
"Yeah, yeah, he got lucky," RD replied with a huff, picking herself up and dusting off her wings. "Is the kid okay?" Superman moved his arm and revealed the little foal, who had passed out in his arms from fright. "Let's get him home." The two took off and flew back towards the village, Superman taking the bandit-filled cage and giving the foal to Rainbow. The ponies cheered when they arrived back at the village; the parents of the colt cried with joy as Rainbow gave them back their foal.
"Thank you...thank you," the mother whispered as she held her child tightly, the foal holding his mom close after he woke up. Superman smiled at the scene while Rainbow had a question.
"Um...if you don't mind me asking, why did the bandits take your son?" she asked them. The couple looked at each other before the husband hobbled inside their home, emerging a minute later with a chest.
"This is why they took him." He opened the chest to reveal one of the most grand and incredible gems that Rainbow Dash had ever seen. It was pure green and shined like a star. The husband took it out of the chest and gave it to Rainbow, who looked at it with wide eyes.
"Wow, I've never seen a gem like this before. Superman, look at this!" She held out the gem to Superman, who looked at it hesitantly. He didn't feel weakened, but it looked so similar. He shook his head and held out his hand, wincing despite there being no pain, as the gem slipped into his hand. "Cool, huh?"
"Yeah, cool," he said with a small smile as he handed it back to its owners. "So they kidnapped your son so that they could get their hands...hooves on this?"
"Yes, but this is the first time somepony has tried to take it," he said with a sigh. "It is our family heirloom and means a lot to us. And I want you to have it," he said, offering it to Superman, who raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you giving this to me?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"You saved our son. This is the least we can do," he replied. Rainbow Dash looked at the gem with awe, not believing that they had the good fortune to be given this. Rarity would kill to have a gem like this and now she, well, Superman, was getting it. She was thinking about how cool that would look on her wall...when Supeman held out his hand and pushed the gem back to its owners.
"Thank you for the offer, but I cannot accept it," he said with a smile. "Your family's happiness is more than enough of a reward."
"But if we keep it, then they'll-"
"Then simply tell them that you gave the gem to me, just don't tell them that I didn't accept." The ponies began to protest, but Superman held out a hand with a smile, ruffling the foal's mane before taking off into the sky with the bandits in tow. Rainbow Dash looked from him to the stunned parents before taking off with a growl after him. He had been flying just fast enough so that she couldn't talk to him, so she had to wait until he had flown over a town that had guards stationed there to drop off the bandits.
"Alright, ask the question," Superman said with a grin, leaning back as he floated in the air.
"Why did you give up the gem?" she asked with a cold glare. "That was the coolest, most 'rad' gem I have ever seen and you just gave it up. Why? You earned it. They were willing to give it to you and you just gave it up." Superman chuckled at her question, having been asked it many times before.
"Because I didn't start saving lives to earn rewards or to become famous. I did it because others needed my help. The work is its own reward," he told her. "And I was being honest when I told them that their happiness was all I needed. That is my reward for what I do. To see others happy." Rainbow Dash looked at him again with disbelief, realizing again how much of a difference there was between them. Not that long ago she had become jealous of a new hero (who turned out to be her friend) and started doing good only for a reward. And here the greatest hero of all time told her that he helped only to make others happy.
"You're a better pony than me," she said in a barely audible whisper.
"Maybe, but you're learning," Superman said with a grin. "Now come on, I can hear Pinkie cursing me from here. Let's go to her party." Superman flew off into the distance, leaving Rainbow Dash to feel inferior once again. She took off after him, wondering to herself how she ever could have considered herself the best.
(S)
"Lex! What was that all about?" Celestia roared through the inter-dimensional link at Lex. "Brainiac, the creature you sent to deal with Superman, nearly wiped out Ponyville! There was massive property damaged and a pony lost her life! Why did you send him here if you knew that he was going to attack us?"
'My dear Celestia, I warned you that this creature might be a bit much for your ponies,' Luthor said in a calming tone. 'Casualties have to be expected when dealing with such a powerful creature such as Superman.'
"It shouldn't have to come to that!" Celestia growled. "We should be able to defeat him without the need to have the innocent brought into this. Brainiac went too far!"
'And he paid for it, didn't he?' Luthor asked. Celestia's face fell as she thought of what had happened, wondering how to tell Luthor this.
"Superman...burned Brainiac alive," Celestia told him a whisper. "He tore apart the other Brainiacs, but he saved the original to burn him to ash. He then threw his ship into the sun. I...I don't think that he survived." Lex went quiet for a minute, taking it in.
'Why are you so afraid of Superman? I understand that you would be afraid after I told you about him, but I heard that you were afraid before you met me. How did you see through his disguise?'
"Years ago...back when my father was still alive and I was just a small filly, a ship landed in one of the farthest reaches of Equestria. My father took me and my mother with him to see what had landed in Equestria. What I saw I will never forget. A bipedal creature that had glowing red eyes and a grey armored form attacked us, despite our peacefulness. I don't remember much else besides the fact that my father had to sacrifice himself with one of the greatest spells known to our race to destroy both the alien and his ship...and that it cost him his life. Luna was too young to remember any of this and when my mother returned to Canterlot, she told the subjects that he had died defending them, nothing else. She didn't feel that they were ready to know the truth about creatures from another world."
'I am so sorry for your loss, but how does this relate to your hatred of Superman?'
"Because on the center of the armored creature's chest was a shield with a grey "S" in the center," Celestia spat out, her head aching as the memory surfaced. "It is a symbol I will never forget. That is why when I saw Superman and the "S", I knew that he came from the same race. That he was evil." Luthor thought about that for a minute, linking the pieces together. Odds are that it was a Kryptonian of ancient origins, one that had come to the planet in hopes of colonizing it. "I couldn't save him. I couldn't even help him. So that's why I was so afraid when Superman showed up and why I was so willing to trust you. But after Brainiac...how do I know I can trust you?"
'I think that it is time that I showed you, instead of just talking about it,' Lex said. 'I know that you can read minds and go through memories, for if your sister can do it, you should be able to do it too.'
"I don't know, this seems a little--"
'You will not trust me otherwise, espescially after my mistake in sending Brainiac to your home. Please, do it.' Celestia closed her eyes and allowed herself to go into Luthor's memories. Little did she know that Luthor had invented a helmet that would show her false images of what Superman did on Earth, which he wore with a giant smile. Celestia watched in horror as "Superman" commited act after act of unspeakable horrors, all with a smile on his face. Luthor knew that he had her now and that meant that his plan could truly begin.
'Fortunatly for you, I have been working on a little something to help you,' he said once she had left his mind and was able to hear her panting. 'It is a red sun generator. Since you told me that you cannot make a red sun yourself, I figured that I would make one for you. If you could please open a small portal in front of me.' Celestia did as he asked, trying to block the images of what she saw from her mind. A small metal circle came out from the other side, landing at her hooves with a thud.
"Wh-what is this supposed to do again?" she asked shakily.
'As long as Superman is in its light, his powers will be temporarily gone. Now this is a one-of-a-kind device that took me a few years to make. Be careful with it. And Celestia...it is my fault for what happened with the pony who lost her life. Do not blame yourself.'
"...Alright Lex, I will trust you. But if any of my ponies die, then you will answer to me." Celestia lifted up the device as Luthor cut off the link between them. She sighed and placed the small circle of metal on a table next to her, heading for the stairs to get out of the dungeon. She left through the door, never once noticing the dark shadow that wrapped around the device and slowly pulled it into the shadows. On the other side of the portal, Luthor chuckled to himself as he watched the device slip into the shadows with the inter-dimensional camera he placed inside of it.
"Well it seems Brainiac failed us," Mercy said to Luthor once he made certain that the device was stolen. He turned towards his personal guard with a smile as he took the device with all the "memories" that Celestia had seen off of his head.
"Failed us? No Mercy, his purpose was never to defeat Superman, but to show me what level the princesses were on and whether or not they'd be a threat to my plans. But if they cannot handle some one as idiotic as Brainiac without Superman's help, then there will be nothing they can do when my master plan is put into motion. I must admit, ruling over both Earth with all it's technology and a land filled with magic is going to be a great job. I cannot wait 'til I get started."
"Are you at all concerned with what happened in Ponyville The princess sounded serious in her threat?"
"Why should I care for a stupid animal that died? The less of them there are the easier it will be to rule over them."
"Are you sure it was alright for the device to be taken? And won't Superman recognize your tech?"
"You give me too little credit. The device is made from materials that I...borrowed from Apokalips. As for the device itself, consider this to be a test run. I am only fifty percent certain it will work right, but why should I have to risk myself when I have all these volunteers who will do it for me? But I must be more careful with my plans. It seems that while still a fool, she loves her subjects too much for another collateral fight...Mercy, contact the Yellow Lanterns. And grab a shovel."
(S)
"Finally you bother to show up!" Pinkie scolded Superman, but moved out of the way to let him into the party. He smiled at her and looked around at all the ponies, each of whom looked to him with a smile. A huge line then formed so that everypony there could thank him for what he did. He tried to tell them that there was no need for thanks, but they ignored him and continued anyway.
"You're quite popular around here, aren't you?" Twilight asked with a grin after the last pony had said their thanks.
"I guess," Superman muttered as he looked around at all the lavish decoration that had been set up for him, having grown used to people throwing celebrations for him back on Earth. But he just didn't feel like celebrating right now.
"Hi Superman!" the CMC said with huge smiles, running over to him.
"Hello girls. Staying out of trouble I hope?" he asked them with a smile. He then noticed another filly standing behind them, a filly who hung her head behind them. Superman gently moved the other three to the side so that he could get a good look at her. Just as he feared, it was the grey unicorn with the yellow mane. She slowly walked over to him, trying not to look him in the eyes.
"Hello there," he said gently, waiting for her to speak. She whispered something that none of the ponies could hear but it made tears well in Superman's eyes. "You don't need to thank me. In fact, you probably shouldn't. I couldn't save your mother. I...failed you." She whispered something again and Superman shook his head. "I know that everypony needed to be saved, but I should have been able to--" He was cut off as she whispered again, and once more tears welled up in his eyes.
"I know. I know." Superman reached down and drew the small filly into a hug. She hugged him back, tears streaming down her face. "What's your name?" She whispered it again, but Superman heard her just fine. "Is anyone taking care of you? The one with the hourglass? That's good." He didn't say anything else, just continued to hug her, a sight that captivated the eyes of all the ponies there. They all watched with smiles on their faces, all except for Rainbow Dash, who was reminded once again why Superman was the better hero. She had been a close friend and she had never once comforted the filly. And yet here Superman was, holding her to try and tell her it was alright. She smiled and walked out of the party, glad that Dinky had somepony that she could rely on. She looked up at the stars, wondering what it would be like to touch them.
"Rainbow Dash? What's wrong?" Dash turned to find that Fluttershy had walked out as well, seeing if her friend was alright. "You seem upset. What happened?"
"I'm fine. Nothing's wrong," she said in a dry voice. Fluttershy looked at her and shook her head, walking up beside her to gaze at the stars.
"If Applejack were here instead of me, she'd scold you for lying," Fluttershy said. "Now then, what's really the matter?" Rainbow Dash looked at her friend, one of the closest friends she ever had. She wanted to tell her...but she couldn't.
"I can't, Fluttershy. I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash whispered as she took off into the sky. She flew as high as she could, so that she could almost touch the stars. Up here she always felt better, knowing that no other pony save the princesses could fly this high. Here, she felt that she was special. But now...she knew that there wasn't just somepony that was similar to her, but that he beat her in every way. Speed, strength, heroic deeds...he was even more loyal than she was, and that was her Element. She always flew up here so that she could almost touch the stars...but she knew that he could touch them, he could go where she couldn't. She hated to to admit it, but she knew it to be true.
In every way, Superman was better.
Superman didn't see RD leave, he was too concerned for the filly. He knew that she needed to get back home, but what had happened today reminded him of his mission, a mission to protect all life no matter who or what they were. And he had failed to uphold that mission. But as Superman held the sobbing filly in his arms, he made another vow to himself. A vow that he would stay in Equestria until he was certain that all the ponies and all the families were safe. That no pony else would have to go through this pain again.
"I promise you, I will protect you from all who seek to hurt you and your kind," Superman whispered so that only she could hear, an underlying rage in his voice. "And if anyone tries to kill another without mercy...then they answer to me."
(S)
Far away from all the ponies in his dark castle, the shadow figure stood on a balcony overlooking a destroyed and dead land. He gazed upon it with no emotion, knowing that one day he would have an even greater land to himself. The sound of a bird cawing caught his attention and he looked up to see a raven flying towards him with something in its beak. He held out his hoof and let the raven drop what it had found in it. He looked down at the small item as the raven flew away.
It was a piece of metal with three connected circles on it.
----------
'It seems that the pony was right in saying that Superman would be interesting, but I still do not know whether or not we should trust him.'
'I think that he is just what our world needed, a hero.'
"That remains to be seen. I still do not like what we saw in the other dimensions.'
'This one is different. Trust me.'
'We shall see.'