Super Pony Taisen

by Valsion

SPT Chapter 9

One after another, the ponies around the Cybuster regained consciousness. Other ponies were coming from the Kurogane to check on them. As the last pony was awake again, Derpy decided that now was the best time to explain everything.

“Alright, now that you're all conscious again, I think I should tell you where I found the Cybuster.”

“That would be a great idea.” Said Twilight who, like the other ponies, was still flustered.

“Do you all remember that time where Dinky forgot to tell me about a field trip?” Dinky, still in her mothers arms blushed as she remembered. Ms. Cheerilee took the entire class for an extended field trip that would take a little longer than normal school time. Dinky was so excited about it she forgot to tell her mom. It ended with her panicked mother searching for her anywhere, even the Everfree Forest. It was so embarrassing for Dinky and the filly felt bad for scaring her mother like that.

The worst part however were the vile comments from Hawkeye, raving on about how irresponsible Derpy was in her opinion. Dinky was pulled out of her memories as her mother continued.

“While I was searching for her in the Everfree Forest I came across the cave where the Ursas used to live before they moved away. After fetching a lantern I explored the cave, hoping my little muffin was there but instead I found the Cybuster.”

Digger interrupted her, “Why didn't you tell anypony about this?”

The expression on Derpy's face changed to sadness. “I just wanted to find my daughter first. When I learned about the field trip I thought for a moment about telling everypony, but when Hawkeye accused me of being mentally incapable of taking care of my child again I got scared. I thought if I told them about a metal giant I found in a cave everypony would think I was crazy so I kept it a secret.”

Fluttershy trotted over to Derpy and laid a comforting hoof over her shoulder. “Don't worry, we don't blame you and I can understand how you have felt. But tell us, where did you find those cats?”

Derpy calmed down and smiled again. “Alright, here's the story...”

Panic was the only thing Derpy felt, Dinky was nowhere to be found. Her first instinct was to ask Ms. Cheerilee if Dinky just forgot to tell her about a field trip again but the only thing she learned was that Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were also missing. Big Macintosh, Granny Smith and the parents of the other two fillies also visited her and asked if they were at her house to play with Dinky.

The other parents and family members started to panic too. Together they started a search party, hoping the children would turn up at one point. As if the disappearance of her daughter wasn't bad enough, through some sort of rotten luck Derpy ended up in the same search team as Hawkeye.

“You do realize that through your incompetence at looking after the children you not only endangered your own filly but three other as well. What do you want to do if we don't find them? Hello, I'm talking to you!”

Derpy gritted her teeth, as much as she wanted to punch this vile mare in the muzzle she had to hold herself back for Dinky's sake.

The search continued until midnight before it was called off. After midnight Derpy still wanted to continue the search but the other parents and family members took her home.

“It is too dark now,” Explained Sweetie Belles mother. “We will continue tomorrow, you should rest now.” Derpy had no other choice but to resign; she had no chance of finding her daughter if she goes alone.

The next day Derpy was rudely awakened by a heavy pounding on her door. She was shocked to see that she slept in and quickly made her way downstairs. She had heavy bags under her bloodshot eyes, as her worries prevented her from getting a good nights sleep, also causing her to be late. As she opened the door, a member of the royal guard stood in front of her with a serious expression. 'No' she thought as she feared for the worst.

“Ms. Hooves, I am here because I have news about your daughter Dinky.”

Derpy suddenly felt empty, 'no, no, no oh please Celestia don't say it'. Almost ready to cry, the gray mailmare prepared for the worst.

“We got a message from Twilight Sparkle, apparently you daughter and her friends snuck on board of Ms. Sparkles Personal Trooper. They are alive but they are now in the Kurogane.”

A heavy stone fell off of her heart as she heard these words. “Oh thank Celestia she is alive." But even with those new, her little muffin was still in danger. "Can Twilight send her back somehow?”

The guard shook his head. “I am sorry Mam, but they currently have no way to send the fillies back safely.”

Some of the dread she felt earlier returned; her daughter was stuck in the middle of the desert surrounded by Nightmare Moons golems. Derpy was still grateful though, alive and in danger was still better than... she didn't want to think about it. “Thank you, are the families of the other fillies also informed?”

“Yes, and you are advised to remain calm and wait for further news about the situation on the Kurogane. But in order to recieve any messages about the status on the dig site you'll have to sign this.”

With these words the guard took a piece of paper out of his saddlebag. Derpy flew over the contents; it was a contract where she guaranteed secrecy in return for getting information about the situation on the dig side. She quickly fetched a quill and signed the contract.

“Thank you Mam, this was necessary because Princess Celestia doesn't want top secret information to reach the false ears. I must go now and remember, stay calm, the crew of the Kurogane knows what it's doing.”

After the guard left Derpy went back inside and sat on the table. All she could think about was her daughter. Was she safe? Is she injured? Is she scared? Then she remembered Hawkeyes cruel words and the decisive question.

“What do you want to do if we can't find them?”

Derpy lifted her head again, worries and sadness were now replaced by determination.

“I am going to get them back.”

Derpy started to pack her saddlepack for the journey ahead of her: some food, some water and Dinky's teddy bear all went into the bag. Now she had to be patient and wait for the night to slip out undetected. This day would prove to be the longest day in the mailmare’s life, as every minute might as well be an hour and every hour an entire day in itself. Finally the sky took a red tint, and soon afterwards the light of Luna’s moon and stars were the only things illuminating the night.

Derpy attached the saddlebag to her back and grabbed a lantern, as well as some flint to light it later. Carefully, she slipped into the night and headed towards the Everfree Forest. As soon as she was far enough away from any buildings she lit her lantern and took off into the sky. The Everfree Forest was already a dark and mysterious place, but during the night it was just plain terrifying. Derpy didn't care about this though, as her mind was locked on the one thing that was important to her right now.

After an hour she finally found the right cave, and after checking for any predators that might hide in the bushes, she landed in front of the entrance. Her heart was pounding inside her chest as she went deeper. Soon enough she saw a silvery shine as the light of her lantern reflected off of the large, knightly figure sitting in front of her. Hope surged through Derpy’s mind as she examined the robot in front of her.

Not wasting a single second she immediately went to work, trying to find the cockpit. The cockpit of the Wildraubtier Twilight piloted was somewhere in the chest; hopefully she could find it too. Derpy flew up to the chest and started to look for some sort of lever or button, but wherever she looked, she couldn't find anything that even resembled a hatch.

For another hour she fruitlessly scanned the machine for an opening. Tears were streaming down her face as her new found hope diminished. Finally she landed on the robots chest and put the lantern down. Her eyes were already red as she stared at the face of the knight.

“Please,” she sobbed. “My daughter is in danger, three other fillies are in danger, please help me to save them.” Nothing happened. “Dinky, my little muffin, she's my only sunshine, and if something happened to her, I couldn't live anymore.”

As Derpy broke down and buried her head into her hooves, a faint, green glow emitted from the eyes of the robot. Finally Derpy noticed it and lifted her head. The armor along the neck suddenly split apart and revealed what the crying pegasus desperately searched for. An oval space was inside the neck and a large seat right in the middle. Carefully, Derpy went inside and sat down where she guessed the robot was controlled from. She noticed some odd, green spheres at each end of the armrests, as well as some sort of table attached to each side of the backrest.

Derpy started to fiddle with the controls, attempting to make any sense of them. What she didn't notice in her concentration was a faint blue glow coming from behind her.

“Come on, how do I turn this thing on?”

“Like this.” Before Derpy could react to the new voice, the cockpit closed and the walls turned into screens that were tightly attached to each other in a beehive like pattern, showing the cave that was now illuminated by a greenish blue glow coming from the front of the machine.

Derpy turned around only to see two cats, one in black and one in white, coming from behind the seat and hopping onto the places next to her seat. “Did, did you just talk?” She pointed a shaking hoof at the black cat.

“That's right, my name is Schwarz and this is Weiß.” As Derpy craned her neck to the other cat it just grinned at her. “Nice to meet you Ms.?” The white cat made a circling motion with its paw.

“M-my name is Derpy Hooves.” Her voice, like her body, was shaking; she never heard of any talking cats before, and why did those two appear suddenly? “Who are you and why can you talk?”

Weiß only gave her another grin. “We can talk because we are the familiar spirits of the Cybuster.”

“Cybuster? Is that the name of this thing?”

“Yup,” answered Schwarz. “And as its familiars we know everything about it.”

Derpy perked up as she heard this. “Do you also know how to move it?”

The cats scoffed, reminding Derpy of Rainbow Dash whenever she got challenged. “Move it? This baby can fly faster than sound.” bragged Schwarz.

This was perfect; now she could save her daughter. “Please, teach me how to fly the Cybuster. My daughter Dinky is stuck in the desert, and she is surrounded by golems. I have to save her.”

“A child in danger? Not with us. We're gonna teach you how to pilot the Cybuster, and you'll have your daughter back in your arms in no time at all.”

Pure joy and hope flooded Derpy’s heart, “Oh thank you. Don't worry my little muffin, mommy is coming.”

“And this is the story how I found the Cybuster and got here.” With this Derpy wrapped up the story. The other ponies were near tears themselves as Derpy finished the tale.

“Oh Derpy, you are the best mother in all of Equestria,” said Rarity, deeply moved by the compassion the mailmare showed for her daughter. “Going into the Everfree Forest alone at night and becoming a knight in shining armor.”

Fluttershy meanwhile hugged Schwarz and Weiß. “You two are real heroes, helping Derpy to save us. You deserve a reward. I'll go and see if Princess Celestia can send us something special for you.” The two cats were blushing at the praise they received.

“Aww shucks, it was nothing really,” started Weiß.

“We just couldn't leave a child in danger that's all,” continued Schwarz.

Digger came up next to Fluttershy with an excited grin on his face. “We're gonna have to get inside as soon as possible. I want you to tell me everything you know about the Cybuster and the Kurogane.”

The cats perked up at this. “Kurogane, sounds familiar,” said Weiß. “Let's get inside and talk about everything.”

“Sorry, but no,” Digger looked over to Derpy, who still had the now sleeping Dinky in her arms. “I just wanted to get the fillies, I'll be off again.” Digger almost looked heartbroken.

“But this is an unique opportunity. A chance to learn about the past from first hoof witnesses.”

“I said no, the safety of the fillies is more important that an interview.”

Twilight Sparkle trotted over to Derpy and put a hoof on her shoulder; she, too, wanted Applebloom and her friends to be safe, but there was still something else on her mind.

“Derpy, I would like to see the children back in Ponyville too but we need your help here.”

The mailmare wanted to protest but was cut off again by Twilight. “In the last battle we took heavy damage and almost all of out Personal Troopers are unable to fight for now. If Nightmare Moon would attack us we'd be defeated in a minute and if that happens nopony could stop her anymore.” Derpy was deep in thought; she wanted Dinky to be safe, but she also didn't want Twilight or anypony else to die.

“Stay just a little longer until we have out PT's repaired. Afterwards you can still take the fillies back to Ponyville.”

Derpy let out a defeated sigh, “Alright, but as soon as you are back to your feet, me and the fillies will go back to Ponyville.”

All ponies cheered as they heard this; with Derpy and the Cybuster, they could fight Nightmare Moon’s golems again, and the Cyflash could destroy even large numbers of them in seconds. Dinky woke up from the cheering and looked at her mother.

“Well my little muffin, looks like we'll stay a little longer.”

Pinkie Pie pulled the gray pegasus mare into a tight bear hug.

“Yay, with Derpy here we will be invincible! Because she's a great mama bear and she has this awesome robot and she brought even more reinforcements with Schwarzy and Weißy and she fights to protect her daughter which gives her even more strength because you always win when you fight to protect you loved ones. Oh do you know what this calls for?”

The ponies knew exactly what she's about to say and in unison they yelled.

“A PARTY!”

Only Digger interjected. “Great idea, but later okay? There are still some things I want to ask Schwarz and Weiß, so let's head to the meeting room.” The other ponies nodded and made their way towards the Kurogane.

In the royal court of Canterlot, Princess Celestia was listening to a green earth pony with blond mane and what appeared to be some sort of list as a Cutie Mark. For almost an hour, he listed different reasons for the establishment of an Earth Pony only research center to study the technology of the Kurogane to enrich the lives of earth ponies all over Equestria. Despite the fact that Princess Celestia was growing tired of the same arguments she heard so often since the organization this pony represented, she still listened to every word until he finally wrapped his speech up.

“And this is why our organization should be put in charge of the Kurogane research project. Do you have any questions princess Celestia?”

The princess in question sighed as the representative of Terra Firma finished his long winded speech. Terra Firma was an organization she often clashed with in court. They were made of Earth Ponies and even the odd Pegasus or Unicorn that pushed for special privileges for earth ponies. It wasn't like the princess couldn't understand where their desire for this came from, but the problem remained the same, there were valid reasons why earth ponies couldn't go to the 'Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns', or be put in charge of the weather. But if she gave Earth Ponies exclusive rights, she would have to bar the other kinds of ponies from whatever field was chosen for no good reason. Celestia took a deep breath as she braced herself for the argument that was about to come.

“Would Pegasus and Unicorn ponies also profit from your research of the Kurogane technology?”

The earth pony in front of her grimaced; he, too, was tired of hearing the same old arguments he heard since he appeared before the princess for the first time.

“Your Majesty,” his words were strained and his voice sounded bitter. “After the needs of the Earth Ponies are met, we can still give other ponies some research rights. Also, the other kinds of ponies in Equestria have all sorts of advantages and privileges in life. I am very certain they can bear to take second place one time.”

“This is not about taking second place, this is about valid reasons. If any Pegasus ponies or Unicorns ask me why they aren't allowed to have access to the new technologies that the Kurogane, brings I can't just say, 'just cause'. This is the same reason why I had no choice but to deny your request for an earth pony exclusive university.” As soon as the last sentence left her mouth Celestia regretted bringing that topic up.

“You have denied that request because you did not want to say no to your favorites for once!” The Terra Firma representative has lost his temper by now, even though it was the princess herself before him he was almost shouting.

“I do NOT play favorites with anypony!” As many times as she heard it, this insult kept stinging her, since she loved all of her subjects equally.

“Yes, it is even worse since you are playing UN-favorites with Earth Ponies.” The representative turned around and stormed out of the court, but as he opened the door, he turned his head towards the princess one more time. “We Earth Ponies won't stand for this forever, someday we will fight for our rights.” Before Celestia could protest the door was slammed shut.

A sad sigh escaped Celestia’s lips. “You have no idea how hard I try to give you what you want.”

In the meeting room of the Kurogane, several ponies and a dragon were staring at two cats sitting at the end of the table. It came to a great shock to them as they learned that these two cats were indeed familiar spirits of the Cybuster. But after the shock settled, it was replaced by hope. Now that Schwarz and Weiß were there maybe they can finally get some answers regarding the Kurogane, the robots and the former crew.

Digger in particular was ecstatic at the prospect of having actual living, talking beings from the time of the Kurogane sitting in front of him. “Please, tell me everything you know. Who built the Kurogane? What were they and what happened to them?”

With every question his face got a little closer to the two cats in front of him. Schwarz and Weiß looked at each other with a nervous expression on their faces. The black cat cleared his throat and answered. “Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but we've been asleep for so long that we can't remember much about the first time we were active. Otherwise, we only know how to control and maintain the Cybuster.”

Digger felt like somepony just punched him in the gut. Two creatures who lived before the princesses sat in front of him, and they couldn't remember anything. It was as if you hold a sandwich in front of a starving pony and yank it away just before he could reach it. Weiß saw the distraught look on Diggers face and chimed in.

“If it helps, the Cybuster has a blackbox that automatically saves the last few minutes before Cybuster is deactivated. Maybe we can show you the pictures.”

The ponies jaws almost hit the floor as they heard this. Actual pictures of the last moments of Cybuster? Digger immediately recovered from his disappointment.

“Are you serious? We can see what happened when Cybuster was first active?” He never felt this excitement before; this was far different from interpreting runes and hieroglyphs. It was a direct look through the eyes of the ancient pilot. Both cats were grinning at the ponies before them as Schwarz spoke up.

“Sure thing, we'll just need the current pilot. By the way where is Derpy?”

Fluttershy answered him. “She wanted to spend some time alone with Dinky. I can understand her; she must have been worried sick about her daugher.”

“But Mom!”

“No buts, Dinky. If you decide to get yourself in danger like this, I obviously need to keep a closer eye on you.” Dinky was devastated; her mother has decided that a sterner upbringing was in order to protect her. According to the new rules, she wasn't allowed to play with her friends anymore unless Derpy knows what they are doing and where they are. She would also bring her to school on her daily route and pick her up directly from now on.

The other Cutie Mark Crusaders were also present, and their heads were hanging low in shame. Of course Derpy chewed them out for endangering Dinky with their little stunt, and her words cut deep despite the fact that the gray mailmare managed to stay calm during the entire lecture.

“I will not risk losing you again. If you break these rules, you are forbidden to play with the Cutie Mark Crusaders again.”

The crusaders heads shot up at this, not believing what they just heard. Derpy saw the shocked expressions.

“Don't give me that look. When I let her join you, I did not assume that you would get her life in danger like this, but apparently I was wrong.”

The fillies almost cried at this. Dinky didn't want to lose her new friends, they had so much fun together. The only option was to obey her mother from now on. “I understand mom, I'll follow the rules.”

Derpy smiled and pulled her daughter into a hug. “That's good my little muffin. Remember, I only do this because I love you.”

“I know.”

Their moment was cut short as the mane six team as well as Spark and Digger arrived on the scene. As Digger saw her he rushed ahead of the others.

“Ms. Derpy, we have to go to the Cybuster immediately. Schwarz and Weiß just told us about something called a 'blackbox', they said it would allow us to see the last moments of the Cybuster prior to its deactivation.”

Getting her daughter back where it was safe may have been the first priority of the mailmare, but since they were stuck in this place for a while she did get a little curious about the history of this place. After agreeing, they all headed towards the hangar where the Cybuster was held and entered the cockpit.

The ponies were tightly crammed into the small cockpit. Just in case, they agreed to keep the Cutie Mark Crusader out of this, since the last pictures of the Cybuster may be disturbing ones. Derpy, Schwarz and Weiß were on their position in the pilots seat while a soft greenish blue glow emanated from the cats.

The other ponies were staring at the still empty screens, waiting for ancient pictures to appear before their eyes. Rainbow Dash turned around for a moment and saw Pinkie Pie happily munching away on some popcorn.

“Hey Pinkie, where did you get that popcorn? Can I have some?”

“Of course you can, I always have some popcorn with me in case something like this happens,” said Pinkie, while holding the bag in front of Rainbow Dash who helped herself to a hoof full.

Rarity on the other hoof was not so thrilled. “Be careful with that sticky stuff. You don't want to ruin the beautiful interior of this robot do you?”

Before they could start to argue Applejack hushed them. “Quiet down it's starting.”

A vast, dead forest was zipping past the Cybuster on the ground below. The large machine was zipping over the forest, looking for something. Its hands were cupped as if it was holding something inside of them.

“Down there, that looks like a good spot.” Came the voice of Schwarz.

The Cybuster turned to see a small cave between the trees. Gently the Cybuster proceeded to land.

“Well done, I just hope that IT won't find them.” This voice was unknown to the listeners. This must have been the past pilot of the Cybuster.

“What happens now?” Asked Weiß, his voice shaking with fear.

“After they are safely hidden away I will hide the Cybuster and fly back by myself to help the others.” Silence dominated to cockpit as the Cybuster has already landed and now stared at its cupped hands.

“I guess this means goodbye.” Said Weiß sadly and again a heavy silence hung through the cockpit. Finally the unknown pilot spoke up.

“Schwarz, Weiß, if the Cybuster is ever needed again I want you two to help the future generations. Me and all the others are putting all of our hope into my daughters, that they may lead those who follow into the future.”

Slowly and gently the Cybusters hands started to part. The pilot was chocking up at the next words.

“My dear, sweet darling angels. I hope that someday you may hear this message. Your mother and I love you so very much. May you create a future where every living being can find happiness.”

Finally the Cybuster released what it held. As the hands parted two little fillies were lying on the ground, blissfully sleeping. One of them had a shining white coat with light pink mane and tail. The other was a deep purple with blue mane and tail. The most striking feature however was that both fillies had a horn and wings.

After the fillies were gently put into the small cave, the pilot of the Cybuster took one last look at them and flew off towards the cave where it would remain hidden for an unknown amount of years. Finally the screens faded to black.

In the present day all ponies that witnessed this were perfectly silent with their mouths agape. Even the hyperactive Pinkie Pie was silently staring in disbelieve.

Twilight Sparkle was the first to recover. “I need to write to the princesses immediately.”

Authors note: Another narration-heavy chapter to cool down. I hope you like the story how Derpy found the Cybuster and the little flashback.