Whenever You Call

by Onomonopia


To Follow in His Footsteps

Superman couldn't believe that he had been tricked by the three fillies, who took almost every opportunity that they had to try and get into trouble. A few days had passed since the whole thing, but it still didn't make it any more believable. But what they said had been true, and they technically hadn't gotten into trouble because he had stopped them before they could. So, the first thing that he saw when he woke up in the barn that morning was the smiling face of Applebloom standing over him.

"Morning, Superman!" she said in a very happy voice, while jumping off of his chest as he sat up. "Are ya ready to go to Canterlot?" Superman grunted in reply and looked through the barn to see that the sun had only just started to rise into the sky. SHE was up at the crack of dawn?

"You're certainly up early," he said with a yawn as he floated to his feet above his bed of hay.

"Nah, not really. This is around the time ah usually get up to help out on the farm before school," she explained as the two of them walked out of the barn. Superman rubbed his eyes and looked around as the sun cast its golden rays on the land, filling it with warmth, while powering the Man of Steel. He smiled as old memories of his childhood came back to him, getting up at dawn, back when his pa was still alive and the two of them would work the fields, first thing in the morning. They never spoke during this time because no words needed to be said. He sighed happily as Applebloom looked at him impatiently.

"Come on Superman, ah really want to go to Canterlot soon!" she whined.

"Have you finished your chores?" he asked her with a look. She took in a breath to answer before sprinting off into the house, followed by a crashing sound and her sister's voice soon after. Superman smiled with a shake of his head as he walked inside the house, ducking slightly as he entered, so as not to destroy the door frame. All of the other Apples were already awake and had started their tasks for the day. Applejack was cooking breakfast for the family, while Big Mac was preparing to go out into the fields and gather apples. Applebloom was getting lectured by Granny Smith about running in the house, and Superman noticed a broken picture frame on the floor where she had run into the wall.

"Morning, Superman," Applejack said with a smile as she tossed him a plate of pancakes that he caught in one hand. "Ah see that Applebloom took it upon herself to wake ya up. Sorry about that."

"It's alright, this is usually the time I get up as well," Superman assured her as he sat down at the table, the other Apples soon joining him. Applebloom kept bouncing up and down in her seat, impatiently waiting for Superman to finish so that they could go to Canterlot.

"So, ya said that ya grew up on a farm as well," Applejack said after Superman devoured his breakfast and had gone back for seconds. "Do ya mind telling us a little about what yer farm was like. Ah've never heard about human...er, Kryptonian farms before."

"It's a human farm, don't worry," he replied as he took his plate to the sink. "And it's not that different from yours. Mine was a lot bigger though, and we usually worked from sun up to sun down. The only real differences are that on my farm it was just me and my pa who worked the fields, while ma kept the house clean. That, and we raised grains and corn instead of apples."

"Wow, how'd ya manage to do anything if it was just the two of ya?" Applebloom asked him as she stopped bouncing.

"You forget who you're talking to here," Superman replied with a smile. "I could do a full day's worth of work when I was little, but most of the time we took our time to do the work and simply enjoyed being in the moment. There was really no point in rushing work, if you do a bad job, as pa used to say. Of course, he'd still give me a talking to if I ever tried to shirk my duties and his words could pierce even my skin."

"Sounds like you had a pretty good childhood," Granny Smith said with a grin. "Ah like this here pa feller."

"Yeah, he was a big influence on me when I was growing up," Superman said with a sad smile. "Alright then, I believe I owe Applebloom and her friends a tour of Canterlot, so I'd better go round up the rest of them." Applebloom sqeeled with delight and shot out of her chair, jumping up and down by the door while Superman walked over to it slowly. But much to both of their surprises, Applejack got up as well and followed them to the door.

"Um, Applejack? Only mah friends and Superman were gonna go to Canterlot," Applebloom told her sister, who stood by the door as well. "Um, that means not yah...hint hint."

"Sorry sis, but there's no way that ah'm just gonna let the three of ya go to Canterlot unsupervised," Applejack said with a smile. "No offence, Superman, but ya could be called off to save somepony and that would leave the girls on their own in Canterlot. And the ponies there have done nothing to deserve that."

"Hey!"

"I have to agree with your sister, Applebloom. I don't want the three of you unattended if I have to go help somewhere," Superman said. "She comes with us."

"Fine," Applebloom grumbled as she walked out the door, muttering to herself. Applejack waved goodbye to her family as they followed Applebloom outside. Applebloom asked Superman to fly them to Rarity's to pick up Sweetie Belle, but Applejack told her that they should just enjoy being in the moment. AB sighed and muttered to herself again while Superman and AJ continued to talk.

"Must be interesting having all those powers," she said as they walked. "What's it like to know that yer the strongest thing out there?"

"First off, I am not the strongest creature in the galaxy," Superman said with a shake of his head. "Darkseid would answer that for me. Second...it's a little terrifying at times."

"How could ya possibly be afraid of anything?" Applebloom asked, slowing down enough so that they could walk side by side. "Ya have all the power in the world. What could ya be afraid of?"

"For starters, I'm afraid of what will happen to others if I don't get to them fast enough when they're in danger," Superman told her. "Second, I'm afraid of what would happen if I ever had to fight 'full out' and there were innocents caught in the crossfire. As the both of you saw, my power isn't exactly easy to control."

"Ya knocked one of our trees to Manehatten," AJ answered.

"I wondered where it had gotten to," Superman said with a shrug before going back to the previous question. "And just because I'm bulletproof doesn't mean that others are. I'd rather bite the bullet myself rather than have it bounce off of me and hit someone else."

"So why did ya decide to become a hero?" Applebloom asked him.

"Because the world needed one," he replied with strength. "Now some people on my planet might disagree and believe that I'm lying, but the truth of the matter is, I simply wish to help."

"After all you've done, who would say that ya weren't there to help?" AJ asked.

"Well, one of them is named Luthor, who is probably the person that speaks out against me the most," Superman said with a frown.

"What kind of pony is he?"

"He may call himself a genius and a savior of mankind, but in reality he's just another criminal, albeit a smart one." The group walked into Ponyville where most of the ponies were just getting out of bed, so the streets were mostly quiet. The few ponies that were out all waved to the group, Superman waved back with a smile.

"The ponies here have really come to like ya," Applejack said, after a group of foals had run up to him and asked for an autograph. "Of course, ya are a hero, so I can understand it."

"I just like to help. Ah, here's Rarity's." Superman walked up to the door of the Carousel Boutique and knocked on the door a few times before stepping back. The answer he got was not what he was expecting.

"Go away! What kind of pony would bother me this early in the morning?" Rarity's voice shrieked from inside. "No pony in their right mind would be up at this hour! Come back later!"

"Rarity, it's Superman. I just stopped by to..." Superman listened as Rarity gave another shriek and heard her fall out of bed before racing down the stairs to get the door. He heard what sounded like the lock being ripped out of the door, and the door swung open to reveal a smiling Rarity.

"Why Superman...this is so unexpected," she said while batting her eyelashes. Superman looked back at AJ who rolled her eyes. AB ran past her to go wake Sweetie Belle, while Superman and AJ walked into the shop. "Please, make yourself at home Superman. Is there anything I can get you? Water? Tea?"

"No thank you, I just came for my suit," he replied courteously. Rarity's face fell a bit but she nodded and went into the back room. Superman took a seat as Applebloom and Sweetie came tumbling down the stairs, landing in a laughing heap at the bottom of the stairs.

"Alright darling, here is your suit," Rarity said as she walked over to Superman with his suit floating behind her. Superman thanked her and once again put it on faster than any of them could see. Rarity sighed as he handed her the black and silver suit before standing up.

"Thank you again for mending it Rarity," Superman said with a smile that almost melted her. "It means a lot to me. I'll find a way to pay you back."

"Nonsense, what you've done for us is more than enough," Rarity replied as she brought the black clothing into the back. "But you'll be glad to know that I'll be coming as well to Canterlot. There is going to be a premiere fashion model there and I must learn her secrets." The way she said that made Superman feel bad for the pony that Rarity was going to interview. He stood up and smiled at the familiarity of his old suit. The fillies ran past them into the streets as the others followed. With Applebloom and Sweetie with them, that just left...

"So where does Scootaloo live?" he asked the two of them. They stopped playing for a second before answering.

"She lives in the town orphanage," Sweetie replied softly. "Her parents vanished years ago." Superman frowned at that, immediately empathizing with the filly. He might have parents, but his best friend had lost his in a terrible tragedy and Superman's real parents had died along with the rest of his species when Krypton exploded. He wondered how she managed to remain so upbeat despite her parents being gone.

"Alright, let's go get her," he said as they walked to the orphanage. On the way over, Rarity kept talking to him about some of the adventures that she and the others had experienced, most of the time putting herself in the role as the one who saved all the others. He knew whenever she was lying, because Applejack laughed to herself. When they had finally arrived at the orphanage (after Rarity had told him about how she brought a legion of Diamond Dogs to their knees, which according to AJ was true), Superman frowned to find that it was a pretty shabby building, needing a lot more than a new coat of paint. The two fillies ran inside to get their friend while Superman stayed outside with the other two.

"Sad, isn't it?"

Superman turned to see RD, Pinkie, Twilight and Fluttershy all walk up behind the group, even though he had heard them coming a mile away. "Poor kid's been here for years now, still hoping that one day her parents will return."

"I take it that you all are going to Canterlot as well?" Superman asked them. Their's eyes all widened and Twilight looked at him with a bashful smile.

"Well, today was the day I'm supposed to give what I learned about friendship to Princess Celestia, so I figured that if you and the girls didn't mind, I-"

"Fine, you all can come," Superman said with a sigh, wondering how it had gone from three fillies to a whole group in a little under an hour. Scootaloo came racing out of the building followed by her two friends, who skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Hey Superman! Hey Rainbow Dash!" she said excitedly as she looked back and forth between the two. "Are you coming to Canterlot with us as well, Rainbow?"

"Yeah I am! I figured that you guys could use some awsome with you while you're there," she said with a smile and a pose. Scootaloo looked up at her in awe while the other ponies rolled their eyes. Superman was actually glad to have her with him, just in case something went wrong.

"Alright then, we'll meet you there," Scootaloo said to the other ponies as she and the other two ran over to Superman.

"What are you two talking about?" Twilight asked as the fillies crawled up Superman and into his arms.

"Because we're taking the express train to Canterlot! Superman away!" Scootaloo cried out with a laugh. When she realized that they weren't moving, she looked at Superman who had raised an eyebrow at her. "Please Superman?" Superman sighed as he looked at RD and motioned his head to Canterlot. The two of them then shot off towards the city, leaving the other ponies there to take the train.

(S)

The three fillies shrieked with glee as Superman flew through the air at a much slower speed than usual, slowed down so that they could look around as they flew, and so that RD could keep up with him. He cast a quick glance behind him to notice that the others had just reached the train station and the train was at least ten minutes away, so he estimated that they would be there in half an hour. Superman and the others reached Canterlot a few seconds later, so he gently descended into the city, much to the surprise of the ponies there.

"Well, here we are," he said as he put them on the ground, with the girls practically slipping out of his arms, they were so excited. The moment their hooves hit the ground, the three tore off towards the first store they saw, but a red blur moved in front of them. "Hold on now, don't just go running off. I promised your sisters that I would keep an eye on you and if anything were to happen, they'd kill me. If the three of you want to go somewhere, we'll all go there together."

"Aw come on, do we have to?" the all asked.

"Come on you three, you get to hang out with Superman and Rainbow Dash all day. What do you have to complain about?" Rainbow asked them, They all thought about it and agreed that they were lucky. So, they tried to follow Superman the best they could...until they saw the princesses.

"Hiya princesses!" they all cried out as they ran over to the three princesses. Superman watched as Celestia, Luna and Cadence walked over to him with Shining Armor following them. He noticed that Celestia's eyes narrowed when she looked at him, while Cadence hid behind Shining Armor at the sight of him. Luna knelt down and let the fillies jump into her hooves.

"What are you doing here?" Celestia asked Superman coldly.

"I promised the girls that I'd take them to Canterlot if they could stay out of trouble for a day," he replied in an emotionless tone. "And they somehow managed to do it, so here we are." Celestia didn't look too happy about that, but she knew that there was nothing she could do. Superman also noticed that Cadence was hiding from him behind her husband, who was also looking at him warily. Apparently they were still afraid of him from his words the other day. The fillies spent a few minutes telling Luna about what they had been up to, while Rainbow Dash tried to talk to Cadence, but she refused to get any closer. Shining just glared at Superman the entire time, so Superman just ignored him. He instead focused on something that was bugging him, like the sound of a bug flying super fast. He had heard that sound before, but he couldn't place it.

"Wait a minute," he muttered to himself, looking to where the buzzing was coming from. "That sounds like-AARRGGGHH" The ponies all screamed as a torrent of green magic consumed Superman and drove him through the streets of Canterlot, pushing him out of Canterlot entirely. The ponies only had a second to register what had happened before even more bolts of magic came flying down around them, tearing apart the city. Shining Armor threw up a shield around his wife and struggled to keep the shield up against the onslaught. Luna had thrown up a barrier around the CMC to protect them while RD flew in between the shots and looked to the sky.

"What's happening?" Celestia asked, as she too used a shield to repel the magic. The fire suddenly came to a stop, but none of the ponies lowered their shields; instead they kept up their guards. Then they heard the sceaming, a scream so loud and so full of rage that none of them could guess what was going on. They all looked up into the sky to see Chrysalis blazing towards them with green magic surrounding her as she flew down towards the city.

"Chrysalis? What is she doing--" Luna asked before a massive blast of magic blasted her shield apart and tossed her across the ground. The three fillies she was protecting screamed as magic burned all around her. Celestia was the next to be blasted aside by Chrysalis' rage-fueled magic. Shining Armor looked on in fear as both princesses were blasted away, channeling all of his magic in his barrier to keep Cadence safe. Chrysalis came crashing down in front of them, her whole body shaking from rage.

"You took them from me," she said in a whisper.

"What are you talking about? We didn't--" Shining Armor never finished his sentence as Chrysalis blasted him out of the way with one well-placed shot, devastating his shield despite his power. Cadence cried out as he was blasted aside, but before she could run to him she was surrounded by a circle of green fire. Chrysalis walked through the flames and right up to Cadence, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You killed them," she said in a dead whisper.

"W-what are you-?"

SMACK!

Cadence's head snapped to the side as Chrysalis slapped her across the face. Cadence's rage built, but one look into Chrysalis' eyes replaced her rage with fear. Chrysalis' horn began to glow a pure red and she glared at Cadence.

"Now you will die with them."

Cadence backed up as Chrysalis pointed her horn right at her.

"No, she won't."

Chyrsalis roared as Superman came bursting out from under the street and hoisted her into the air, turning her head so that her magic fired off in the wrong direction. Chyrsalis screamed at him and with a strength that Superman didn't know she had, she bucked Superman just enough to turn her head to blast Superman in the face. Superman growled and let go of her to rub the magic fire off of his face while Chrysalis smiled.

"I figured that you would show up," she said with an evil smile, but Superman noticed the tears in her eyes. "So I prepared a surprise for you." She clapped her hooves and two massive explosions shook all of Canterlot. Superman looked down at the city with horror as the city of Canterlot shook and began to move slightly.

"What did you do?" Superman yelled at her as she began to laugh.

"I destroyed the supports that connect the city to the mountain," Chrysalis said with a smile. "And now the entire city of Canterlot will fall to the forest below and possibly crush Ponyville in the process. Of course, even if it doesn't, none of the ponies will survive. Unless of course, somepony stops it." Superman glared at her but knew that she had trapped him. He sped off towards where the princess were getting up.

"Luna. Celestia. You two are with me," Superman told them quickly. "I need the two of you to see if you can repair the supports to Canterlot while I hold it up. NOW!" he roared before either of them could argue. Superman flew underneath the city and caught it on his shoulder, pushing up with all his might to keep it from sinking. Luna and Celestia flew towards the destroyed supports to repair them, leaving Cadence next to Shining while Rainbow Dash kept the CMC close to her. Chrysalis floated down and landed in front of Cadence, her horn flooded with power and eyes full of rage.

"Why are you doing this, Chrysalis?" Cadence asked her as she tried desperately to get Shining to wake up. "Are you still mad about what happened at the wedding?"

"Shut up," Chrysalis whispered. She looked down at Shining Armor with her tear-stained eyes. "One of the beliefs in my kingdom is an eye for an eye. You took my children from me," she whispered as she used her magic to pin Cadence to the ground as she lifted a hoof over Shining's head. "So I'll take the one you love."

"NO!" Cadence screamed and fought with all her might, but the rage-fueled magic held strong. Right before she brought her hoof down, a blue hoof smacked her in the side of the head. Chrysalis staggered back and glared at the pony who had attacked her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked with venom.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Rainbow Dash responded, taking up a fighting stance and bouncing on her hooves. Chrysalis roared and unleashed her fury upon RD, who ducked and weaved in between each shot, moving her farther and farther away from the pinned Cadence. The moment that Cadence and Shining were in the clear, RD shot through the spells and drove her front hoof into Chrysalis' face. Chrysalis staggered back and tried to tear RD's throat out with her teeth, but Rainbow rolled under the bite and slid between her legs, driving her rear hoof into Chrysalis' gut. Before Chrysalis could recover, Rainbow Dash jumped up and drove her elbow into her head, dazing her. RD took up another fighting stance as Chrysalis recovered, glaring daggers at Rainbow.

'If Chrysalis wasn't so mad, I'd probably be dead right now,' RD thought to herself as she dodged another attack. 'But what could have angered her so much that she'd attack Canterlot completely on her own, even when she knew Superman was here?' RD rolled under another blast and barely jumped back fast enough to get out of the way of a hoof strike.

"You can't keep dodging forever!" Chrysalis roared as she fired more and more magic towards RD, who was having a much harder time dodging all of the shots. Rainbow Dash smiled as she flipped over a shot.

"I don't need to," she said with a grin. Chrysalis wondered what she was saying, but all thought was blasted from her mind as Cadence hit her in the back with all her magical might. Chrysalis coughed once and fell to the ground. Cadence walked over to her and glared sheer venom at her, her eyes blazing with hatred.

"You dare?" she whispered as she fired another blast into her body again. "You dare to threaten my husband after attacking me and my child?! I should...no, I will kill you."

"Do it then," Chrysalis said as she closed her tear-stained eyes. "Now I can finally be with them." Cadence started to finish off Chrysalis, but a rainbow blur put herself between Cadence and Chrysalis.

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Rainbow Dash said as she put up her hooves to try and stop Cadence. "She's beaten. there's really no need to finish her off."

"Yes there is," Cadence said in a whisper as she pushed her way past Rainbow. "She dies now."

"Not on my watch."

Cadence backed up in terror as this time a red blur moved in between her and Chrysalis. "I've seen enough killing since I got here. No more," Superman said as he floated in front of her, arms crossed and giving her a cold glare.

"She attacked my family!" Cadence roared in rage, glaring into Superman's eyes as he simply stared back at her. "I have to kill her to keep them safe!"

"And how many will have to die before your family is safe?" Superman replied coldly. The CMC ran over to Superman, but RD stopped them before they could get close. Celestia and Luna landed behind Cadence. Luna went over to check on Shining Armor while Celestia walked up to Superman.

"I have listened to the entire conversation and I agree with Cadence. She's too dangerous to let live," Celestia said. "I will kill her." The two of them backed up in fear as Superman's eyes began to glow red.

"No, you won't," Superman said quietly. Celestia and Cadence glared at Superman while charging their magics. Superman simply stared back, preparing himself for a fight that he really didn't want to have, but would fight to the end to protect the being behind him. The two princesses probably would have taken that opportunity to attack if some ponies had not also taken that moment to show up.

"Um, are we interrupting something?"

Superman and the princesses turned to see the Elements of Harmony standing in the city center, looking at them with confusion.