//------------------------------// // Princess to Be // Story: Whenever You Call // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Rarity was shocked when she saw both Superman and Rainbow Dash show up on her door step. The moment she saw Superman, she shot back through the house and came out a second later with her mane wet. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I just stepped out of the shower," she said as she batted her eyelashes at him. "Rarity, you rinsed your head in the sink," Superman said with a smirk. "Using that super-vision to peek on me?" "Nope, super hearing." Rarity sighed and gave up, stepping aside so that Superman and the chuckling Rainbow Dash could come inside. Superman explained what he needed, and from the look Rarity gave his suit, she was in agreement. She waved Superman over by the mirrors as she pulled out a measuring tape. "Thank you for taking time out of your day to do this," Superman said as she measured his figure, noticing that she stopped for a few seconds too long when she got to his muscles. "Not a problem darling," she replied with a grin, writing down the measurements. "You have saved not just me and my sister, but Ponyville on so many different occasions. I'd be a lousy Element of Generosity if I didn't repay you in some way." She walked into the back of the boutique while levitating some black silk and silver material behind her, leaving Superman and Rainbow Dash alone to talk. "Thanks for what you said earlier," RD said bashfully when she made sure Rarity wasn't listening. "I sometimes get like that...more often than I care to admit." "Don't mention it. Like I said, I'm here to help." "How did you know about Diamond Tiara?" RD asked in a whisper. "She's normally so mean...but you picked up on it right away." "I heard her heartbeat," he replied. Once Rainbow got over the shock that Superman could listen to heartbeats, she asked him another question. "What does that have to do with it?" "Her heart was making irregular beats, telling me she was upset," Superman muttered as he looked through the wall at what Rarity was making. She looked up and turned to face him, indicating for him to look away. "That, as well as what she told us..." Superman knew RD had been listening in on them--of course he knew, he's Superman. "She let me know that she was feeling guilty about something. The incident with those two is the only thing in recent memory that I could think of that would cause her to be upset." "And you could tell all of this from her heartbeat?" RD asked in amazement, wondering what other powers he had. Before he could answer, Rarity came out from the back swinging an outfit behind her. "TA-DA!" she exclaimed as she levitated the garment over to Superman. He looked at it with a whistle, amazed at how fast she had worked. It was a black tee-shirt with black pants and his "S" symbol was a silver color. "Well what do you think, darling? Isn't it amazing?" "It's certainly something," he replied politely. Rarity motioned for him to try it on. Faster than either of them could see, Superman switched out of his red and blue and into the black and silver, holding out his damaged costume to a frowning Rarity. "Yes, it definitely looks good on you...shows off all the right parts," she said with a smile as she looked over his muscles. Superman rolled his eyes while Rainbow snickered to herself. Rarity took the red and blue in hoof and inspected it, shaking her head at some of the tears. "Give me a day, maybe two, and I'll have this all repaired for you." "Thank you very much, Miss Rarity," Superman said with a smile. "It means a lot to have it...Oh for the love of..." "What's the matter?" Rainbow Dash asked him. "How many times have I told those three not to do anything dangerous?" he growled to himself, shooting off through the door way, blowing over all of Rarity's dresses as he did so. RD and Rarity poked their heads out from under the dresses that now buried them. "I still can't believe how fast he is," Rainbow Dash said with a whistle. "I keep getting reminded of how sad it is that he isn't a stallion," Rarity said with a sigh, making RD gag. Superman quickly found what the three fillies were up to this time, but for the first time since he saved them, he wasn't sure that he should be mad at them. "And just what are the three of you up to?" he asked them as he descended down, taking a look at everything around them. They were standing on a table with test tubes and beakers on it, while fire surrounded them. A few books lay open to the side that were mostly about theories of how to return the dead to life. It had only taken Superman a second to guess what they were doing, and less time than that to blow out the fires while scooping them up. "Well..." Applebloom began, avoiding eye contact with him as he set the three of them down in front of him. "We saw what happened the other day with...and we wanted to help! Twilight has multiple books on..." Superman glanced over at the books that had been burned to a crisp "...and we thought that we could help bring her back." "Two things: First, never mess with bringing the dead back to life. I've had enough trouble with the Black Lanterns as it is," Superman said with a sigh, not wanting to remember that fight. "Second, while it is a nice gesture, she's gone. And you can't bring the dead back to life...most of the time." "But we just wanted to help her," Sweetie Belle said with a sniffle. Superman knelt down to their level and sighed. "I know. And I know you're just trying to help, but sometimes there's nothing we can do. Now come on, let's get you three home." The fillies started to complain, but Superman gave them a look that silenced them. He picked them back up in one arm and grabbed Twilight's books with the other, flying each back to their respective homes. Twilight was less than thrilled when she saw her books. "AAAAHHHH!! What have you done to my books?!" she half-screamed as she gathered what remained of the books in her hooves. Spike smirked to himself at the thought of somepony else burning Twilight's books for once. "What have I done? What were you thinking, giving books on how to raise the dead to FILLIES?" Superman shot back, crossing his arms with a frown. "What were you thinking?" "I've been stressed, okay?" she yelled at him as she walked back inside. "I need to get to the Crystal Empire in a few minutes, but I missed my train and I can't find my tiara! Not to mention that another alien showed up and wrecked my home and also killed one of my FRIENDS! I gave them the books because they said that they were only doing school work with it!" Superman sighed at how easily Twilight had been duped and that the CMC had lied again. He'd have to talk to them about that. "Nice outfit by the way," she said with a smirk. "Your tiara's behind the pillow that's on the couch," Superman muttered as he scanned her house. "Also, what's the Crystal Empire? This is the first time I've heard it mentioned." "The Crystal Empire is where my brother Shining Armor and Princess Cadence live," Twilight said quickly, floating the tiara over to her. "They said that they had something really urgent to tell me and needed me there A.S.A.P. But now I'm running late!" "Well then, how about I fly you up there?" Superman offered. "No thanks, I can fly there on my own," she grunted in reply. "Can you get there faster than a speeding bullet?" Twilight started to answer; then shut her mouth. "Fine, but don't drop me," she grumbled. Superman picked her up in his arms and hopped outside, shooting up into the air and rocketing north. Twilight held on to him for dear life as he sped over Equestria. Within a minute, Superman came to a halt over a city made entirely of crystal. "You weren't joking when you said it was the Crystal Empire," he said, impressed. Everything here was crystal. The buildings, the streets...the ponies?" Um, why are the ponies made of crystal as well?" "After we returned the crystal heart, the crystal ponies returned to their true forms," Twilight said as Superman floated to the ground and put her down. She wobbled for a few steps and shook her head. "Come on, the palace is this way." Superman floated through the streets behind her, taking in the sites. Just as he had thought, everything was crystal. It was an even fancier place than Canterlot and seemed to be a lot more sophisticated. He also noticed that all of the crystal ponies were staring at him and muttering under their breath to each other. Of course, Superman could still hear them fine. "Is that...Supermane?" "He's a lot bigger than the pictures show." "I thought he wore red and blue?" Superman pretended not to hear them and waved to them as he passed, causing some of them to flinch. He lowered his hand with a frown, sad that they didn't trust him yet. He and Twilight walked up to what Superman could only assume were the palace gates, where the guards were quick to respond by surrounding Superman and pointing spears at him. "Spears huh?" he said with a smile as he poked the tip of one of the spears and shattered it. "Cute." The guards backed away from him a bit, eyeing him cautiously until Twilight stepped forward. "It's alright, everypony, he's with me," Twilight assured them. They looked from her to Superman with a look of uncertainty, but lowered their spears and opened the gates. Twilight muttered something about guards these days as she walked in, while Superman walked by with a smile, causing the guards to look at him funny. The two walked through the crystal castle until they reached the main hall, where two very royal looking ponies were waiting for them. The first was a white stallion with a blue mane in armor and the second was a pink pony with a crown. "Cadence!" Twilight called out as she rushed over to the pink one. "Twilight! Cadence called out in return as they met in the center. Then at the same time they sang, "Sunshine, sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" the two laughed while shaking their flanks at each other. The white stallion hugged Twilight while Superman tried to comprehend what he had just seen. "And the winner of the weirdest thing I've seen since I got here goes to..." he said in a joking tone, gaining the attention of the two. The white stallion eyed him suspiciously while Cadence walked over to him. "Hello there," she said with a smile, one that Superman noticed had a hint of suspicion. "Welcome to the Crystal Empire. You must be Superman." "And you must be Princess Cadence," he replied, offering her his hand. Before he could shake it, the white stallion moved in front of her and held out his hoof. "Shining Armor. Captain of the Royal Guard and best fighter in all of Equestria," he said with some pride. Superman smiled and shook his hoof. "It's an honor to meet you," he replied, noticing that Shining was trying to crush his hand. Superman applied a little pressure and watched as Shining winced. "Shining, why do you always have to do that?" Cadence asked with a sigh as he shook out his hoof. "Superman's not going to hurt us. If you actually read the paper, you'd see that he's saved Ponyville and Canterlot." She looked over at Superman and added, "Sorry about him; he's a little protective of me," she said with a smile, extending her hoof. Superman smiled in return and shook her hoof, his eyebrow raising as he heard something interesting. When he had shaken Shining's hoof, he had heard only one heartbeat, but Cadence had two heartbeats, one where her heart should be and another lower. "It's an honor," he said with a sly smile as he shook her hoof. He then said in a whisper, "and may I be the first to say congratulations on the baby". Cadence's face turned white as he let go of her hoof, and Shining Armor looked at him equally shocked. Twilight looked between the smiling Superman and stunned Cadence in confusion. "What? What did he say?" she asked as Superman headed over to the window. He calculated that he had been away from Ponyville for far too long and that the CMC were probably in trouble. He heard Cadence tell Twilight that they had something to tell her as Superman flew off into the sky. He was half-way back to Ponyville when he heard Twilight scream and wondered if he should have stayed just to see her face. He decided to take a detour and flew up into the sky, faster than any creature on this planet. Once he was in the very upper atmosphere did he come to a stop and look down, seeing all the towns and cities with all the ponies in them. He smiled when he thought of everything that had happened since he had arrived, minus the Brainiac attack. "For ponies, they're actually not that bad," he said to no one in particular. He had seen some very evil and bad creatures since he had arrived here, but far more good ponies as well. Rainbow Dash in particular had sparked his interest, and he looked forward to seeing her future. He sighed happily and rocketed down towards the Apples farm, deciding to see what was going on there. He burst through the clouds to find the Apples hard at work, all except for Applebloom who was up in her room. Applejack spotted him and ran over as he landed. "Howdy Super...man? What's with the new look?" she asked as Superman walked over to her. "Nothing really. Just wearing these while Rarity repairs my other outfit," he replied. Applejack chuckled and walked off towards the field. "What? What's so funny?" "Ah wouldn't count on getting that outfit back," she said with a chuckle, heading towards the barn. Superman started to follow her, then noticed Applebloom was looking out of the window at him with a bored look on her face. "I take it you grounded Applebloom?" "Of course ah did! That filly was trying to bring the dead back to life! Imagine such a silly thing, the dead returning to life," she said with a shake of her head. "I came back from the dead." Applejack stopped for a second, then shook her head and continued walking. "Yeah well, yer...you. Ah'd be more surprised if ya couldn't come back from the dead." "Still, do you mind if I talk to her?" "Knock yerself out. Maybe ya can get through to her. Celestia knows ah can't." Superman nodded and flew up to her window, knocking on it. She ran to the window and opened it, letting him float in. He smiled as he looked around he room while she sat down on her bed. "Hey Superman! What's up?" she asked with a smile. "You lied to Twilight about why you wanted the book," Superman said with a frown, raising an eyebrow at her. She shrunk from his stare and hid under her covers to avoid his gaze. "I know why you did that, but it was still wrong. Tomorrow I want you to go apologize to her." "Ah just wanted to help," she muttered from under the covers. Superman sighed and sat down on the bed as well. "And that's a noble goal, but bringing someone back from the dead is rarely a good idea." She wormed her way out from under the covers and looked up at him. "What's a Black Lantern? Ya mentioned it earlier." "A story for another time," Superman said, standing up. "Look, I'll make you a deal. If you and your friends can stay out of trouble for a full day, I'll personally fly you to Canterlot and spend the day with you." Applebloom's eyes widened at this and she sprang up in excitement. "Really? Ya promise?" Really. But you three have to be good for a full day," he reminded her. "That'll be easy! Once the girls hear about this, they'll be the bestest-behaved ponies ya ever saw!" She started to sprint out of the room, but Superman caught her and picked her up. "Where are you going? You're grounded, remember?" "Aw come on! How are the girls supposed to know if ah don't tell them?" "I'll tell them myself. You stay in here." She frowned with a huff as he placed her back on the bed and exited through the door, finding Applejack on the other side. "Well, that's not exactly how ah woulda done it, but ah suppose it works for now," she said with a shrug. "Once everything's calmed down, I'll talk to her and her friends about why they can't put themselves in danger all the time," he said with a sigh. "I figure that you have some chores for me to do?" "You've been gone for nearly two days off saving others," she replied. "Yer chores have piled up." "Actually, before I get them started, there's one last thing I have to do," Superman said as he shot back over Ponyville, doing a quick scan of the houses to find the one he was looking for. The moment he saw it, he flew down in front of the door and knocked twice, backing away as a brown stallion answered. "Yes...oh, Superman. What can I do for you?" he asked in a hollow voice, Superman noticed that his eyes were red. "Is Dinky here? I want to make sure she's alright," Superman asked in his most polite tone. But the stallion shook his head before he answered. "She's hurting right now and said that she wants to be alone. Losing her mother was especially hard for her because she had already lost her father in a previous attack. Seeing you...might just bring up bad memories for her again. If you really want me to get her, I guess I could do you a favor, but--" "No, that's alright," Superman said as his heart sank a bit. Before he turned to leave, he added, "Tell her...I'm sorry." The stallion nodded as Superman took off into the sky again, heading back to AJ's. He felt even worse now knowing that she had lost both her parents to assaults on their home and that she was all alone now. 'Don't worry. I will protect you all.' Superman flew down towards the barn and the lands, preparing to finish the chores he had to do. (S) His plan had almost been completed. Sombra had been working for days without rest and had finally worked out a plan that would defeat Superman, and allow Sombra to take over Canterlot. If his calculations were correct, the red sun rays should be able to reflect across his magic shield that would bring Superman to his knees. He smiled as he finished attaching the device to his chest. Once it was attached, he sauntered out of his room into the main hall of the castle, where Chrysalis was taking care of her child. "I must say Chrysalis, you have been remarkably helpful," he said with a toothy grin while Chrysalis glared at him. "First you return my horn to me and then you help me gain the tool to take Canterlot with ease. I feel like I should reward you," he said slyly as Chrysalis turned to face him with hope in her eyes. "But that can wait until after I have taken Canterlot. You do understand, don't you? I can't risk having you interfere, so I'll hold on to my insurance a little longer." With a laugh, Sombra vanished into the darkness, leaving Chrysalis alone with the small changeling. "Gah?" it asked her. She sighed and looked down at her, a small smile spreading on her face as she gently hugged it. "Don't worry. I will get you brother and sister back," she assured her. "I promise."