//------------------------------// // Radiance // Story: Power Ponies Secret Origins // by Grenazers //------------------------------// HIGHTLIGHT COMICS PRESENTS Issue #22 RADIANCE PART ONE A long time ago when the world was still young, a meteor from outer space was aiming towards the young planet. The meteor entered the planet's atmosphere, burning it up upon entry. Down below the local wildlife spotted the flaming rock in the sky and they all instinctively vacated the area. The meteorite then crashed onto the surface, penetrating deep into the planet's crust. It dug a couple of miles deep until it stopped. There the meteorite remained doing nothing as time passes. Eventually the hole it made filled up, burying the space rock below. The meteorite will remain there, undisturbed for the next few millennium until a certain mining operation starting digging near its location. The Glister & Shimmer is a mining company that specializes in mining gems. The company has set up operation here after some unicorns detected something beneath the ground. The miners got to work and dug up some tunnels. Once they dug deep enough, they found the diamonds the unicorns detected and soon enough they began mining. As they continue to mine for more gemstones, the ponies were unaware of the ancient alien rock they were digger near to. Somewhere deep in these tunnels, a single mare was leading a group of stallions down in the mines. The mare was a yellow unicorn with blue mane and green eyes. Her name is Citrine and she is taking these strong fellow to dig out the spots she marked. Being a unicorn, Citrine was taught and train to use a gemstone detection spell. A unique ability very useful for this line of work. This was also great position since all she had to do was find the diamonds and mark the spot for the miners to dig later. No actual mining is required from her. “Alright boys, the diamonds are down here.” She said as she pointed her hoof down a slope. “You heard her lads, time to get to work.” Said the lead stallion. All the ponies minus Citrine, picked a spot and began picking it away with their pickaxes. As the group work, the lead stallion picked the spot near the yellow mare and strike a conversation with her. “So Citrine, what's a mare like you doing working here?” “What do you mean?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow. “What I mean is, such a pretty mare like yourself shouldn't be working in a place like this.” He flirtatious answered. Citrine roll her eyes at this stallion. “Well daddy said I had to get a job and this position pays very handsomely.” “Well what kind pony have their daughter work in the mines?” He questioned. “The kind that runs this company.” She replied. “Runs this company? Who's your daddy. Mr. Glister?” He sarcastically said. “No, it's Mr. Shimmer.” She corrected. The stallion froze and awkwardly turn to face the grinning mare. “Y-you're pulling my leg, you're daddy aint Mr. Shimmer.” “Yes, he is. Here's a photo.” Citrine took out a small photo and hoofed to the stallion. He looked at it and saw a picture of Mr. Shimmer, his wife, and a little smiling yellow filly on his back. The information dawn upon him and he soon realize he tried to flirt with the boss's daughter. The stallion then became silent and focused on his work. Citrine smiled behind the stallion's back, glad to see reaction on his face. She was about to trot on and leave the group to their work when all a of sudden the tunnels started shaking. “Cave in!” Somepony outside the room shouted. Upon hearing the warning everypony immediately dropped what they were doing and all galloped out of the room. Citrine was about to join them, but another shaking made her lost her balance and fell hard on the rocky ground. By the time she got up the entrance was blocked off as the ceiling above collapse, trapping the yellow unicorn mare within the room. “Wait! I'm still in here! Help!” Citrine screamed out loud, but heard nopony responding. The mare then begin panicking, her minds wanders off imagining the worst kind of outcome. The situation only worsen when the lantern's flame went out, leaving the room in total darkness. At this moment Citrine would be screaming right about now, but a strange light caught her attention. On the dark wall, a small crack with a bright pink light shining through it. For reasons unknown her curiosity got the better of her and she picked up a pickaxe and started striking against the wall. Each hit broke a piece off, allowing more light to shine through. After a dozen or so hits, the wall was cleared, revealing the treasure it was hiding. A cache of glowing pink diamonds. “Pink diamonds?” She said to herself. “Never seen one before, must a new type of diamonds.” Citrine then used her magic to levitate a piece and brought it up to her face. “My these diamonds are simply marvelous.” As pretty as these were, the mare remembered that she was still trapped down here. “Great, at least now when archeologist find my remains they'll know that I discovered a new type of diamonds before I died.” She said sarcastically. “Well might as well make myself comfortable and await to starve to death.” Citrine then sat on a pink glowing pillow as she examine the pink diamond again. “Wait a second.” Citrine looked down and saw the pink glowing pillow. The mare yelp in surprise which cause the the pink pillow to disappeared. “Where did it go?” She questioned and looked around. “It's too dark in here, really wish I have a lantern right now.” As soon as she finished that sentence a pink lantern suddenly materialize out of thin air and illuminated the room. “Where this come from?” She asked. “First the pink pillow and now this pink lantern, where the hay did these things come from?” Citrine then look at the pink diamond she was holding, it was glowing more brighter then usual. “Wait a second, could this little gemstone be the one making thes objects?” The mare though of something else and all of sudden a pink hoof fan appeared next to her. “Amazing! This diamond allows me to create any object with a mere though. Perhaps I can use this to escape this place.” Citrine then though up of large pink drill and began drilling her way out. She drill her way through the rubble and continue her trek. She encountered more rubble block her path, but these were easily dealt with, thanks to her pink drill. The mare continue to do this until she saw the light coming from the mine's entrance. She rush towards the exit and expected the rest of the miners and rescuers outside. However, when step out she found neither of these. All that was waiting outside was nothing. In fact the entire site was void of any ponies. “Where is everypony?” END OF PART ONE THE MANE-IAC IN BAD HAIR DAY In the Sparkle Laboratory, a group of scientist are working on something revolutionary, a new ingredient for a hairspray. If done correctly it will make anypony's mane indestructible. Among the many employees working at Sparkle Lab, there is one pony in disguise. This pony heard of the hairspray and intend to use it on themselves. This pony seek to use the item so that she can be unstoppable. This pony is name Mane-iac, the infamous villainess of Maretropolis. “He he he, the day is almost here. For weeks I have work here under the disguise of Ms. Mane. For weeks I had to work along side with these fools, but it's going to be worth when they finally finished that hairspray.” The Mane-iac soliloquizing her speech. “With that hairspray on me, those Power Ponies won't stand a chance.” “Hey Mane!” Said a very friendly stallion. The Mane-iac scowled and turn to face the bald stallion. “What is it, Tinkerer?” She asked with a tint on disdain in her voice. “Just wanted you to know that Snack Bar, just brought a bunch of hostess stuff and is sharing with everyone.” He answered. “You better get them now or else there will none left for ya.” The Mane-iac grind her teeth.”No thanks Tinkerer, I'm not interested.” She replied, trying not to sound rude. “Are you sure?” “Yes!” She yelled. “Alright, no need to bite head off.” The stallion then turn and left the mare to herself. “I swear if another pony mention that awful snack cake to me.” She didn't finish that threat as she took a deep breath. “Just one more day Mane-iac and the city is yours.” The next day, the same group of scientist gather together as the lead scientist stood in front of them. “Gentleponies, today we have succeeded in creating the ultimate hairspray.” “Then I guess you won't mine me taking it!” All the scientist in the room turn and saw the menacing mare standing by the door way, her tentacle mane ready to strike. “Give me the hairspray and nopony will get hurt.” “Alright Mane-iac, just don't hurt any of the colleagues.” The lead scientist said and hoof the item to the villainous mare. Upon being given the hairspray, Mane-iac grinned and laugh maniacally. “With this, those Power Ponies won't not stand a chance against me!” She begins spraying he mane with this stuff, already she feel the sensation in her hair. Then all of a sudden, her tentacle mane just stop and went back to being strands. “What is this? This hairspray didn't make my mane invincible!” “That right Mane-iac!” Said the lead scientist who took off his lab coat and glasses off, revealing himself to be Steel Hook, chief of security of Sparkle Lab. The other scientists in the room took off their disguise and reveal themselves to be security guards. “Get her boys.” Steel ordered and two ponies trotted to the defenceless villain, hoofcuffing her. “How can this be?” Mane-iac questioned. “My plan was perfect!” “Yes, Mane-iac you almost had us if it weren't for that one little thing. Your dislike of Hostess Fruit snacks!” Steel stated. “When we heard that somepony didn't like Hostess, we did a little background check on you and discovered a Ms. Mane to be one of your many alias. Once we figure you were the Mane-iac, we informed the real scientists and they develop a hairspray that will disable your mane.” “Curses, foiled again!” The Mane-iac shouted before being dragged away. You Get A Big Delight In Every Bite Of Hostess Fruit Snacks. RADIENCE PART TWO Standing alone in front of the mine's entrance, Citrine looked around the empty mining site. The once noisy and active site is gone, leaving a eerie silence in its place. “Hello!” She called out. “Anypony still here!” “W-w-whose there?” a very weak voice answered. Citrine heard the voice nearby and trace it to its source. She came across a small crater where a stallion was lying down. The stallion was in bad shape, bruises and cuts were all over his body. The stallion opened his eyes and saw the yellow mare. “Citrine, is that you?” Citrine looked at the stallion once more and recognize him as the guy who tried to hit on her from before. “Yes, its me Flake.” She answered. “What happened to you? Where is everypony?” “It was the diamond dogs. They came and attack us. Caused the cave ins and rounded everypony up.” “Why?” “Said we were stealing their diamonds.” Flake paused for bit before continuing. “I tried to fight back, but they were too tough. Beat me up badly and left me here to die.” “Are you going to be alright?” “Yeah, just some light wounds, nothing serious.” He then looked at her straight in the eyes. “Listen Citrine, you have to get out of here and get help.” “But what about you?” “Can't move, too hurt.” He explained “Just leave me here, I'll be fine.” “OK Flake, I'll be back with help.” And with that Citrine gallop away from the stallion and out of the mining site. As she made it pass the entrance she couldn't help but worry of her fellow co-workers. “Let's see now, Flatville is a only a few miles away from here. I can go there and get the local authorities for help.” She gallop in the direction of the town, but immediately stopped in her tracks. “But, what about my co-workers? I have to find them.” The mare then start weigh her options. “Should I go to the town or find my co-workers, if only I can do both.” She then remembered the pink diamond in her possession. “Or maybe I can.” Citrine concentrate her thoughts and created a pink pigeon construct. She then create a pink pencil and paper, using former to write something on the paper. She then roll up the paper and tied it to the pigeon's leg. Citrine then commanded the pigeon to deliver the message to the nearest police station. The bird then flew off into the direction of Flatville. With that problem solve, Citrine moved onto the next one. “Alright where to start?” She scanned the flat barren landscape and found nothing of importance. “Hmm I wonder if you can make me fly?” She said to the pink diamond. The mare then though about flying and all of a sudden she was covered in a pink glow and was soon off the ground. Citrine was soaring high in the sky, feeling the cool wind brush against her face. “So this is what flying is like? No wonder those pegasuses enjoy this so much.” The mare continue to fly, but then stopped when she spotted something from afar. She flew closer to get a better look. What she spotted was a large group heading somewhere. Using a binocular she materialize, Citrine can see the diamond dogs leading a bunch of ponies. “Those are my co-workers!” She blurted out. Citrine wanted to fly in and rescue them, but realize that those dogs could be dangerous. She needed something to fight against those savage brutes. She looked down at her diamond and though of something brilliant. “Alright diamond, let's see what we can do.” Firmly holding the pink gemstone in her hoof, the pink aura surrounded her glowed more brighter then before. Meanwhile, a mile ahead. Two diamond dogs were hanging back far behind the main group. These two were assign to watch the rear and report anything they find suspicious. The brown dog's eyes spot something in the sky. “What is that?” He asked his partner, who was also looking at the strange bright object. “I don't know, but it is getting closer!” He stated before getting blasted by a pink beam. Before the other dog could do anything, he too was also blasted by another pink beam. Citrine flew pass the down dogs and headed for the main group. The mare chose her targets, making sure to hit the dogs that are far away from the ponies, to insure that they won't be harmed in the crossfire. Once she was in range, she unleashed a torrent of beams at the diamond dogs, each one hitting their mark. The dogs were in full panic now from her surprise attack. As the dogs started dropping, a few ponies notices that the strange glowing figure was only targeting the diamond dogs. “What the hay is that thing?” One pony questioned. “What ever it is, it just gave us opening.” Another stallion said as he pointed to the wide gap where their captors were. He then turn to face the rest of the ponies. “Alright folks, that thing left us an opening to escape, so let's get out of here!” Everypony nodded and all immediately galloped away from the diamond dogs, leaving them to fight against the pink flying stranger. Citrine saw the ponies escaping and covered them, continuing to blast every dog she sees. The dogs threw their spears at the mare, but she either evaded them or simply blast them to pieces. She kept this doing for a while, until she was sure the ponies were far away now. After that she bolted and flew out of there, leaving the dogs to nurse their wounds and wallow in their defeat. Citrine flew back to the mine site and saw not only the ponies she rescued, but also the a bunch of police and ambulances in the area. She landed in the outskirt and got rid of the pink glow. She continue the rest of the way on hoof and trotted back the site. Nopony notices her trotting in, as they were too busy doing their things. She passed a pair of police ponies and listen in to their conversation. “So Patch, tell me again how did you knew this place was attacked by diamond dogs?” Ask the brown police officer. “Well sir, it was the strangest thing.” The blue officer stated. “I was just sitting by my desk doing paper work, when all of a sudden this pink pigeon came flying in and landed in front of me.” “Pink pigeon?” “Yeah a pink pigeon.” He repeated. “Then I noticed the paper tied to his leg. I took it out, I unfolded it, and read the message about this place being attack by those mutts.” “Wow, that is strange.” “Yeah, but it got even stranger. When I took my eyes off them for a second, both the pink bird and paper vanished!” Citrine smiled at this, glad that her message reach them. She continue to trot through the site, seeing many medics tending to the wounded, including Flake. The mare then came across a police officer holding a notepad and writing down words that stallion was saying. “So there we were, being lead to someplace by those dogs when all of a sudden this thing came flying in and took out those suckers out!” The stallion said with much enthusiasm. “Can you describe this thing?” “Well it was shape like a pony and it radiated with a bright pink light.” Citrine didn't the rest of the description as she trots out of hearing distance. She went around wandering the camp when her ears heard somepony calling out for her. “Citrine!” The mare turn and saw an grey stallion approaching her. “Father?” She said, surprise by his appearance. “Oh thank goddess you're alright Citrine!” The stallion said as he hugged her. “Father, what are you doing here?” “I came here to check the progress of this place when those mutts attack. They capture me and everypony here. When I didn't see among the prisoners, I though something bad has happened to you.” “I'm alright father, nothing to worry about.” She assured. “Where were you the entire time?” He questioned. “Well father I manage to evade capture and tried to get help, but then I saw this pink thing flying by.” “Ah yes that thing.” He said as he trot with his daughter. “Everypony here say that thing saved us, but I not entirely sure if it was doing it for us.” Citrine smiled. “Oh don't worry dad, I'm pretty sure it doing it for you guys.” She said, taking a quick glance at her pink diamond before trotting with her father. THE END