To be a Hero in changing times

by Sparkfire

Strange visitor, Lost hope

        It was odd for Clark Kent to find himself lost or confused, but that was what he was feeling right now. He was lost emotionally and literally, and confused on how he even got here. It looked like he was in a forest, and he was still on earth from what saw when flew up above the atmosphere. Just not his earth, as he saw fewer cities, and those he did see were strange amalgamations of Medieval, Gothic, Colonial, Victorian, and very early modern architecture. To Clark, it made no sense and made sense at the same time. 

‘Where the hell am I?’ he thought, perplexed by the notion he felt that he was not in the proverbial Kansas anymore.

‘one minute I’m in my apartment, wondering if the world needs me anymore, the next I’m in some pastel colored world, possibly alternate universe, wearing my Kryptonian combat suit. Ok Clark, think! Who could do this, that knows my secret and wants to hurt me or screw with my life. I can rule out Mister Mxyzptlk, this isn’t his MO. He announces he when he does stuff like this.  So, that leaves only a few who would even attempt anything like this.’ Clark sighed in defeat.

The only villains that had the power to do this were few and far between. Only two would have the power to even attempt this. One was the Galactic Destroying Entity known as Imperiex, who was destroyed along with Brainiac 13 (a future version of the original) by Clark forcing them into a Temporal Boom tube, which took  the two back the big bang and and allowed the energy of the event to obliterate them both.

 The other, is a being that scares Clark to the core. Sending Clark here is not his MO. No, Darkseid would never send anyone here unless he knew it would be like hell to them. The New God was more prone to do things that would make even the strongest willed being break. Oh, he would not kill you, he would do much much worse. Clark doubted he brought him here, but felt that he might have something to do with it. For now, it was only speculation that the self proclaimed ‘god of evil’ was even involved in any way.  

‘Alright, I better find the nearest town. Maybe the people there can at least can direct me to someone who might can send me back. Let’s see, Ah, there’s a small town about 3 miles from here,. Now, let see  where the center of the town i…..  you have got to be kidding me. This is definitely not a place Darkseid would send anyone to.’  Thought the Man of Steel as he realized what this place was populated by something he didn’t think was possible: PONIES, at least 4 different kinds if the purple Unicorn with wings was not just some weird mutation.

‘This might be more difficult than I thought. There’s no telling if this earth even has humans or something that looks like humans, they might be afraid of me even if there are no humans here. I’m gonna have figure out how to approach them without seeming to be hostile and also find a way to communicate with them.’ He thought as he pondered his options.

’Could just listen to some conversations to see if I can pick-up some words I recognize and try to piece together this world’s language. It might be an invasion of privacy, but I’ve got no choice right now . Ok, now let’s hear what they speak here.’

As Clark closes his eyes to focus on his hearing, he hears a sound that he is all too familiar with: Screams of terror. At that moment, there is no hesitation for him. He flies as fast as he can into the direction of them.

        At his speed, he is there in seconds, and he quickly accesses the situation. Five wolves that look like they were made of wood, and they had trapped 3 young ponies in a treehouse. Clark didn’t have much time to get them out of this. So, he dove down fast and hit the wolf farthest from the forest hard enough to send him hurtling towards the others and knocking them away from the trapped foals (at least he assume that was the term they would use for young ponies).

        As this happened, the 3 ponies inside had no clue what was happening. All they knew was that something awesome and very strange had just happened..

“Uh AppleBloom, are you see what I’m seeing?”

“Yeah, ah’m seeing it, but ah don’t believe it”

“Maybe it’s a nice creature and won’t hurt us, unlike those Timberwolves?”

“Ah don’t know, …..wait a second? Why’d it pick-up a fallen limb?”

The 3 Cutie Mark Crusaders have seen strange and incredible things since they met. But until today, none of them had seen anything light a fire by looking at what it wanted to light on fire.

“Whoa, did that whatever it is, just light a fire with it’s eyes” Scootaloo asked the others, in awe of the strange visitor’s powers.

“Eyep, How’d it do that?”

“That not possible, any unicorn can light a fire with their magic, but I don’t think that even Miss Twilight can do that with her eyes. Why does it needs a fire anyway?”

As if to answer Sweetie Belle’s question, Superman walked toward the wolves and swung the the burning branch at them. The Wooden Canines ran in fear of the fiery stick, not knowing what Clark was planning to do to them with it.

‘So much for having a proper and non-danger filled first contact. Well, at least from what I heard from them, they might be able to understand me.’ Thought the Man of Steel.

“Ok, can you three understand anything I’m saying right now?” After the three nodded, indicating they did, Clark continued to question them a bit “ Alright, can you answer the following: Where am I, as in the name of the planet, continent, country, providence and city or town we’re in right now?” He asked them, like a good investigative reporter would. “Please take as long as you need to answer. I know what you three have just seen might be a bit overwhelming. If you can’t tell me because you don’t know or just don’t want to, I’ll understand. ”

The three foals look at each other, before the white/grey unicorn spoke up “Uhh, in order: We’re on the planet Earth, on the continent of equus, in the country of equestria, in the providence of Shetland, the outskirts of the town of ponyville. Uhh, what are you suppose to be?”

‘Earth, well I’m in another universe if this is earth. Still, it could be an odd planet in my own universe. It’s been known that some planets sometimes have very similar languages. I’ll have to check the sky tonight and see if I see some constellations I recognize to confirm whether or not I’m in another universe’

“Well, it’s kind of complicated, but before we talk anymore, I need to get you three someplace safe. First I want you to tell me your names so I don’t call you the wrong thing.” Clark said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible to make sure he allayed their potential fear of him.

“Well, I’m Sweetie Belle, the pegasus is Scootaloo, and that’s Applebloom.” the unicorn, now know as Sweetie Belle said. Seemingly, there fear of him looked like it had subsided, for now.

“Ok Sweetie Belle, my name is Kal-El, but you 3 can call me Kal. Now, I think it would be safer someplace else right now. Where’s the nearest house that I can drop you off at that you three will be safe at until you can get to you family?” Clark asked them, only telling them his birth name because Superman would sound very weird to the 3.

It was the yellow one that spoke up. “Well, mah Granny and brother are up at the house that way. Ah reckon Ah could ask Big Mac ta get Sweetie and Scoots home after we tell them what happened. Ah jus’ don’t know what went wrong.” She sighed, trying to figure out why they were attacked, and what the creature in front of them was.

“Ok, now that I know the direction to go. I need to ask one more question, specifically to you Scootaloo. Can you fly?”

With a nod that showed she couldn’t, Clark picked the 3 fillies up in his arms and  said to them “Don’t be scared, I’m going to take you to the place AppleBloom just told me about. We’ll be there in a minute. Also, you 3 might want to hold on tight, we’re going to go pretty fast.”

 The trio looked confused at that. Before they could ask what he meant, they felt a rush of wind, and when the wind stopped, they were at the house. When they realized where they were, all three fillies jaws had dropped to the ground.

‘No way, even Rainbow Dash can’t do that. It must of took him like 2 seconds to get from the clubhouse to here.’

‘What the, how’d he do that. Ah just pointed ta the houses’ direction, how’d he get us here so fast”

‘But, but, but, but...... wow. I don’t think Rarity will believe this’

“Ok, this is your stop. Now lets’ make sure someone is........ wait, someone is coming down the path” Clark said to the three, as he heard the sound of six mares taking while walking down said path.

Well, 4 walking down the path, 1 flying, and one that looked like she was ‘Bouncing?’

‘Why can’t first contacts ever go smoothly’ the man of steel face palmed.

Clarks’ hearing picked-up the musings of the six, and they seem to concern the farm they were at.

“Consarn it Pinkie, why’d ya make us come ta the farm? Ah hope it’s important, cause ah got ta get back to the stand.”

“Yeah, I mean no offense Pinkie, but we all have other things to do today.”

“We have to be at the the farm cause my Pinkie sense told me something really, really super duper important was going to happen, and we all need to be there with the princesses. Oooh, I wonder if it’s a superhero from another dimension. Or maybe a red demon with a big right hoof and two horns who become a good guy because PANCAKES. Though I hope that it isn’t that huge green troll thingy that gets bigger and meaner the angrier you make it. I mean that would be worse than the time I had to assault Spike with 40 cakes because he was being a greedy mcgreedypants, and I wasted 40 cake which was terrible.

“Say, Twilight? Since Spike still owes 456 bits to the Cakes for those cakes, can we use him to help around Sugarcube Corner for the next two weeks?”

“We’ll deal that after this. Now Pinkie, are you sure I needed to contact the princesses besides Cadance? I mean your pinkie sense has been correct on most predictions, but you might be interpreting it wrong. Also, I’d normally question you about those 3 thing you mentioned, but right now we have to deal with whatever is suppose to happen here.”

“Uh, Twilight darling, I think I see why we’re here. And what it’s wearing is hideous, also, it’s standing by the girls.”  

“What in tarnation is that? Looks like a hairless monkey?”

‘It seems I was expected by the Pink one. Either she’s Psychic or able to use some form of magic to see the immediate future. So how does one say “I come in peace” to ponies?’ Clark though, but before he could do anything, he heard a faint noise behind him that start to get louder and louder. Till…..

*Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg*

He turned, shielding his eyes from the flash, though he could see 2 figures in the near blinding light. As the light faded, he could see that the smaller of the 2 was about his height from hoof to horn while the larger one seem to tower over him by a foot with her horn. And like the purple unicorn he now recognized as the same winged unicorn he saw earlier, they both had wings as well.

As for the two new arrivals, they are stunned at the sight and only Celestia even had a clue what they were seeing. It was the bane of a very promising paleontologist, archeologist, and theoretical evolutionist named Lyra Heartstrings. It was her discoveries of a hypothetical evolution of Yetis and Sasquatches that earned the mare her attention, doubly so when it was revealed that she was a song caster, one who cast spells through music instead of the normal way. Celestia nearly offered a professor's position in Canterlot university, only to find out that the mare was made a laughing stock by her professors by making her include humans as a part of every class she taught every single day.

Lyras’ reputation was destroyed by the very ponies she trusted, over something she really didn’t care about, as she focused more on theoretical pony evolution more than other species. by the time Celestia could find her, she had moved to ponyville. But the damage had been done, and almost every pony who knew her believed she was obsessed with humans, even her marefriend. The only silver lining was that Twilight didn’t believe that, as she had gotten to know the poor mare since her move to ponyville.

Now was a chance to prove her sane, but at the same time, she remembered that theoretical humans might be more dangerous than the savages known as yetis and sasquatches. She and everyone had to be careful, since not even Lyra knew what Humans were capable of doing.

It never occurred to her that the creature in front of everyone was an alien even to humans, and only looked like them.  

Luna on the other hand, knew nothing of what was in front of her. So her first action was; attack the strange creature and subdue it. So, she flew as high as she could , then flew straight towards Clark as at near supersonic speeds with her left hoof tucked under her forearm and right hoof stretched straight out in front of her . Normally, that would have killed almost anyone else who took that kind of blow. So it surprised everypony when Clark did the impossible.

He caught Lunas’ hoof and stop her in her tracks. Then he spoke in an even tone. “You know, attacking someone who’s done nothing to you is a bad idea. What you just tried would have killed anyone else except me.”

The Mane 6, they were shocked. The crusaders jaws, for the second time today, hit the ground. As for Celestia, well this confirmed he was dangerous, but not that was evil or a savage. Luna however, well she had heard a term that fit her current situation quite well. ‘I think I just drop a load of gems’ She fearfully thought, finally understanding what it actually meant.

“Uh, I think you might need to go clean yourself up. First time I’ve ever induced that reaction in someone literally. This not how I’d planned on meeting any of you.” Clark spoke, trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand “I’d of preferred to meet your rulers on more pleasant terms and ask them if they could help me get home in a neutral place without scarring any of you or causing a panic, but considering what has happened, and that they’re already here, I think we all might need to all take a moment a let what we seen up to this sink in.”

After hearing what it said, yet wondering how it knew their language, Celestia agreed. After an hour, in which the crusaders explain how they met him to the 8 mares that arrived right after they did and AppleBlooms’ and AppleJacks’ brother and granny who arrived 10 minutes after everyone else.

“What did you mean, that you were wanting to meet my sister and I on “more pleasant terms”? Are you saying that you were planning on taking our crowns from us?” Luna asked, unable to figure out what Clark wanted from them.

“No, I wanted to ask if you could help me get home or knew someone who could. Taking your crowns from you defeats the purpose of meeting you both for help. I am not someone who uses his power for personal gain. I don’t want anything other than help getting home.”

“What are thou, and why does thou need help?” Luna ask, weary of him.

“My species is called Kryptonian, unfortunately for me, I’m the last of my kind. I need help getting home, because I have no clue if I’m on another planet or in another universe. 1 minute I was sitting in my apartment, the next I was in that forest. Also, before you ask, I just look like a human, that is if any of you even know what a human is.”

Twilight, was interested in what Clark was saying. It filled her both with fascination and gave her a new thing to study, but it also meant that either he was an alien to humans on another planet and thus just an alien to them, or from an alternate universe. If the latter was true, it would mean that her trip to the other equestria was just the beginning of something that was just now revealing itself to her. The discovery of a Multiverse, multiple universes existing simultaneously, the ultimate impossibility under the current understanding she had of all known sciences. She had to know why he thought that.

“Sir, how do you know this might be an alternate universe, rather than just a planet you never knew of before. It’s seems to be a very unprovable fact that you are from another universe.”

“Normally, I’d flat out agree with you, but the proof is simple. This planet has the same number of continents as where I’m from, and a similar, yet cleaner eco-system. But the most telling sign is the name of the planet: Earth is also the name of the planet I live on.

"However, that proof is only proof to me Miss. The only way I could prove this to any of you if to ask how many planets are in this star system or checking the constellations in the night sky. I only know what to look for to confirm if this alternate universe though, because I have some experience with them. For all I know, this could be an alternate timeline to my own.” Seeing the confused looks on their faces, he add “You don’t want to know, it’s too confusing to explain.”

Before anymore questions could be asked. a flash of light appeared behind them. For the first time, since he was brought here, Clark knew who did it. It was not an enemy, but an ally. The ponies for the second time today, saw something that looked human. This one however, was covered in a dark green cloak.

This creature was called many things: the spirit of vengeance and justice, the right hand of God, the angel of death by some. But most just call him The Spectre.

“Hello Clark, I’m sorry i didn’t inform you that I needed to bring you here, but there is a problem the only you can help these ponies with.” The Spectre said, his voice sounding both like thunder and the calm before a storm. Just by speaking, he startled everyone there, putting everypony on edge. 

“Also, I’ve noticed that you needed some time to deal with some issues that have come up, which is another reason I’ve brought you here 2 months before you need to be.”

“Spectre! Look, I appreciate that you do what you have to, to deliver justice, but you can’t just bring me to another world because you can. You could've just asked me first.”

Before anyone could say anything more, a yellow enraged blur put itself in front of the the Spectre. Yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs.

“How dare you, you brought this poor creature without his permission, here to a strange land. He doesn’t know anything about us, and you expect him to help us with a problem none of us know of. And to top off we know barely anything about him or what he can do to help anypony. How dare you just up and alter somepony’s life own your terms without EVEN ASKING IF THEY WOULD YOU….YOU….!!!” Fluttershy raved and ranted at the Spectre, having no idea that her stare can’t affect him.

The Spectre simply smirked, before speaking calmly to her “Miss Posey, though your concerns are valid, staring me won’t work. If I were made of Flesh and Blood, then yes, I would be affected by your Stare. However, I’m currently both a ghost and spirit (yes they are different things), so … well you can see why it can’t affect me.

“But right now, you need to know why I brought him here. So ask the question I know you want to ask.” The Spirit of Vengeance added.

It Celestia who asked.

“Why have you brought him here against his will. Normally, something like this would be a matter of national security, what with 'Clark?' as you called him, being a alien. However, I was informed that it was something else. So, who ever you are, please explain why you brought him here, and explain in terms that everypony here can understand.”

“I’ll start at the beginning. 5,000 years ago, your civilization was targeted by a being of incredible power. As well as wielded a weapon of terrible and devastating potential. This weapon is known to you as the Rainbow of Darkness.

"He wanted to conquer and enslave your people. However several ponies found a way to stop him, the result cost the life of one of them. He was banished back to where came. For a while.

"2 weeks ago, a being named Metron came to me. He warned me that this being was planning destroy the very thing that banished him so long ago, or in this case, the beings that are the living embodiments of what banished him. What has become known to you all as The Elements of Harmony.” He paused, waiting for the next question.

This time it was the dark orange filly pegasus called Scootaloo who spoke.

“What hay does that have to do with anything relating with him, and why are you calling him Clark? He said his name is Kal.”

“Uh, I hafta agree with Scoots here. Why do you you call him that? And what does any of that egghead stuff half to do with anything?”

“Because, he may have been banished from here, but that didn’t stop him from going to other worlds to cause his brand of destruction. He went to other universes, and eventually found Clarks’. I’ll let him explain his name after I’m finished.

“Let’s just say that Clark is the only living being capable of actually defeating who I talking about, and he has done it several times. It’s one of the the reasons I have not mention the madman's name yet, since it is a very sore subject to Clark”

At that statement, the jaws of all ponies dropped. Even Celestia and Luna were shocked, as both had figured out who the Spectre might be talking about. But to them, what was just said should be impossible. The Crusaders just realized that something big was about to go down, just not the extent of it. Granny and Big MacIntosh who were Silent since they arrived could only gasp in horror at the thought that AppleJack could be killed. The Bearers however, did not understand the stakes. All they thought about was that creatures from another world have come and told that they were useless, at least they perceive it as that.

Clark, he knew why he had the feeling Darkseid was involved with this now. He still needed confirmation, but now he was 99% sure it was him.

“Spectre, answer me this. Why wasn’t the league informed of this? Batman is a better Tactician than me, Flash is faster, GL has more power, and Diana is a much better fighter. I only have more power types and am durable. Without the team, if this is who I think it is I will need back up, no ifs, ands or buts about it. So please, tell me the other name for this so called “Rainbow of Darkness””

“It is simple, what is Life without Compassion, Smiles, Truth, Charity, Camaraderie, and Unity? What is life with hope? All those millennium ago, those seven concepts stopped HIM, at the cost of the bearer of hopes’ life. You know the answer to your question Clark, but I will unfortunately confirm your fears. Yes, the “Rainbow of Darkness” is in fact, the Anti-Life Equation.

That is why you are needed. Without the Elements of Harmony aiding you in this coming fight, you will die. The same would happen to them if you don’t help. You, whether it was your goal or not, have become more than the symbol you wear. You are the avatar of the final part of the Life equation itself, Hope. And yes, the Elements of Harmony are in fact the Life Equation

I’ve Chosen not to mention the name of HIM due to what it means to you Clark. That is, I won’t say his real name because of what he has done to you. Here, he is known by another name.

Here, He is called……..TIREK!!”