//------------------------------//
// Thanks, But No Thanks 
// Story: Power Ponies: Origins 
// by Epicdiscord214 
//------------------------------//

"Well, here we are." Twilight Sparkle said as the carriage dropped to the streets of Maretropolis.
"So... let me get this straight." Spike said. "This Oracle guy told you that you need to team up with five other heroes here to fight Princess Celestia's evil sister."
"Basically." Twilight said getting off the carriage with her bags. "Although I'm not quite sure how six superheroes are going to make a difference. It took nearly all of Celestia's power to beat the Dark Alicorn the first time."
"Maybe it's how powerful these heroes are." Spike said. "I say we change into our costumes, find these ponies, and talk them into becoming a team."
"All right."





After they checked into a hotel and escaped in their costumes, they snuck out of the building and traveled across the town.
"So, Hum Drum, who do we find first?"
Hum Drum pulled out a piece of paper with five different names. "According to the Oracle's list, we should look at someone named Mistress Marevelous."
The Masked Matterhorn suddenly stopped. "Well, does it say any more."
"Uh, well, there's a side-note by her name." Hum Drum said. "It reads, 'Watch your hooves'."
"Watch my hooves?" the Masked Matterhorn asked. "What's that supposed to..."
Her sentence was cut short when she felt a quick tug wrapping around her front-right leg. She saw a glowing rope dragging her across the street, but the Masked Matterhorn kept running with her hooves. She then crashed into an Earth pony with a black costume and red stripes. The glowing rope was attached to her belt. As soon as the Earth pony saw the Masked Matterhorn, she chuckled.
"Sorry about that." she spoke in a Western accent. "I was hoping a mugger I was tailing would step there. Didn't mean to wrangle up a fellow superhero."
"I take it you must be this Mistress Marevelous." the Masked Matterhorn said.
"That's right." Marevelous said. "So, you here for a move."
"Actually, no. I'm the Masked Matterhorn and I'm supposed to form a team. Guess what, you made the cut. What do you say?"
"Well, I got nothing to do this weekend." Marevelous said. "Count me in!"
"Great!" Matterhorn said. "We're off to a good start. Hum Drum, who's next?"
"Let's see." Hum Drum said examining the list. "It says 'Watch the skies for Zapp'."
At the sound of that, Mistress Marevelous widened her eyes. She sighed and replied. "On second thought, I got muggers to catch."
"What?" the Matterhorn asked.
"Sorry, but I can't be on this team." Mistress Marevelous answered turning away. "Thanks, but no thanks."
"But..." the Masked Matterhorn said before seeing Marevelous running away. "Well, that was odd."
"I know." Hum Drum said. "Maybe Zapp won't change her mind so fast."
After they left, Mistress Marevelous looked back and sighed. She turned back to her direction only to find a figure in front of her.
"Hey, who are..." that was the last thing she said before the figure threw a burlap bag over her.





Heard from the citizens, the Masked Matterhorn learned that Zapp was signing autographs in the middle of town. She and Hum Drum waited in the line until they made it to the table. Behind it sat a costumed, cyan Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane.
"Well, a fellow superhero." she said. "I'm Zapp, the one and only. Now, who can I make this autograph to?"
"I'm the Masked Matterhorn, but I'm not here for an autograph. Actually, I'm putting a team together and you're an eligible candidate."
"Hmm... It has been a while since I was on a team. And this solo act is getting a little boring. Why not?"
"Okay." Hum Drum said pulling out the list. "Next up is, and I quote, 'the elusive and glamorous Radiance'."
"Say what?" Zapp asked. She then grew upset toward the Masked Matterhorn. "Oh, I get it. They sent you here to get me back. Well, you can tell them I said 'nice try'! Go make a chump out of someone else!" And with that, she flew away before anyone could say another word.
"Any pony else feeling deja vu?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.
"Deja who?" Hum Drum asked.
"Deja vu." the Matterhorn repeated. "It means we've been in this kind of situation before."
"That did seem a little strange." Hum Drum said. "Maybe Radiance can be a little more cooperative."
Meanwhile, Zapp landed at the other side of the block still upset. She was busy strolling through that she didn't notice some pony spraying her with a mist that made her black out.





"WOW!" Hum Drum shouted as he and the Masked Matterhorn entered the beautiful, boutique-shaped lair of Radiance. "So beautiful!"
"I know." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Someone decorates their HQ quite beautifully."
"Not the lair." Hum Drum said. "Her!" He pointed at the white unicorn with the blue mane and the dazzling costume. She was going through a collection of different-colored streamers.
"No." the unicorn said. "Not that. Clashes with my outfit."
"Um, excuse me." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Are you Radiance?"
"That's me." Radiance said turning around. When she saw her guest, she gasped. "ARE YOU THE MASKED MATTERHORN?!"
"Uh, yeah."
"Ahem." Hum Drum cleared his throat. "And I'm Hum Drum."
"OH, IT'S SUCH AN HONOR!" Radiance expressed herself. "Never before, in my whole life, have I had the pleasure of having a hero from Canterlot in my home! Quickly, you must tell me what it's like!"
"Maybe later." the Masked Matterhorn replied nervously. "Right now, you should know that I am tasked with assembling a team. After you, all we need is Saddle Rager and..."
"Wait, what?!" Radiance gasped. She cleared her throat. "Well, in that case... GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"
The next thing they know, the Masked Matterhorn and Hum Drum were shoved out of the lair in utter confusion.
"That's the third time this happened." the Masked Matterhorn said. "What's going on?"
Back inside the lair, Radiance growled in anger. But she didn't notice the mysterious figure sneaking up on her until it was too late.





A quick travel through the forest was what lead the Masked Matterhorn and Hum Drum to find the next pony on their list. On the list, it read, "Follow the sound of singing birds, and you will find Saddle Rager." The Matterhorn and Hum Drum suddenly heard the sound of birds chirping a melodious tone. They saw a green-costumed Pegasus with a pale-yellow coat and a pink mane. She was listening to the birds singing harmoniously. The song ended when the Masked Matterhorn spoke.
"Hi!"
"Yeep!" Saddle Rager shrieked quietly. She made a bleating sound like a sheep and toppled over on her backside and she hasn't moved.
"Uh, hi." the Masked Matterhorn said. "My name's the Masked Matterhorn. Are you Saddle Rager?" There was no answer; just awkward silence. "...Okay. Look, I'm putting a team together and I'd like you to be a part of it. What do you say?" There was still no answer. "Um, I'll come back when you can talk again."
And with that, the Masked Matterhorn and Hum Drum left the scene. Soon after, a mysterious figure grabbed Saddle Rager's tail and pulled her out of the forest.





"All right." Hum Drum said looking at the list. "There's only one hero left. This list reads, 'Don't find Filli-Second. She'll find you'."
"She'll find... What does that even mean?"
Suddenly, a pink and white flash blurred past and when it stopped, there was a pink Earth pony with a pink-and-white costume.
"Hi!" she gasped. "You must be the Masked Matterhorn and Hum Drum!"
"What?" Hum Drum asked.
"Uh... that's right." the Matterhorn said. "And we..."
"You've come to Maretropolis to recruit me, Zapp, Saddle Rager, Mistress Marevelous, and Radiance in a team to fight off Celestia's evil sister that is about to return tonight?!" Filli-Second asked.
Both of the other heroes dropped their jaws.
"How did you know that?" the Masked Matterhorn asked.
"Just a guess." Filli-Second answered following a squeak.
"This could be easier than we thought." the Masked Matterhorn said. "So what do you say?"
"What do I say?" Filli-Second asked happily. "I say... NO WAY!" And with that, she zipped away faster than anyone else can blink.
"I don't get it." the Masked Matterhorn said. "Why would none of the heroes want to be on a team and then just change their minds?"
"It doesn't make any sense." Hum Drum said. "For now, I say we rest for a bit."
"But the Dark Alicorn is supposed to return tonight. We can't waste any time?"
"What choice do we have?" Hum Drum asked.
Meanwhile, not too far, Filli-Second tried to lift her hooves, but they were stuck on the rubber cement and she couldn't move.
"Looks like I got myself into a sticky situation." Filli-Second said. She then saw a mysterious figure in a cape standing beside her. "Oh, hey. Who are you?"





Later that night, in front of the Glimmering Shampoo Company, Green Locks and Briny Deep parked their van and made it to the door. Green Locks used a hairclip to pick the lock and opened the door.
"We're in." Green Locks said. "Let's go."
The two ran their way up to the higher floor and made it to Starlight Glimmer's office.
"I still can't believe we're doing this, dear." Briny Deep said. "We could get arrested for this."
"Hey, if we do, at least we get to be somewhere better than this dump." Green Locks said. "Besides, I did not drive us all the way here just to turn back at the last second. If Starlight is hiding some big scandal, I'm going to find it. Just watch the door while I look."
Green Locks entered the office and began searching.





Back at Twilight's apartment, she still couldn't figure out the super ponies.
"Ooh!" Spike said. "I got it! Maybe they... No, no. Never mind."
"If only we had a clue or a sign or a..." Twilight's message was cut short when they heard a tap on the window. They looked and saw a piece of paper taped to the glass. There was a message.
	"If you want to find out why the ponies you saw don't want to be part of a team, meet us at the Center Park Ring as soon as you can. Hurry. There's no time."
"Who wrote this?" Spike asked.
"I don't know." Twilight said. "Whoever wrote this seems to know who we are and what we're doing here. It's worth a try. After all..."
At that moment, a bright light lit the sky. A beam of light flew from the moon and bounced from star to star. Twilight looked ahead and saw the trail leading to the outskirts of Maretropolis.
"...We may need all the help we can get."





"I GOT IT!" Green Locks cheered jumping out of the office. She was holding onto a folder. "I FOUND IT! Oh, this won't just shut down the factory, it will run Starlight out of town."
"Whoa, whoa, honey." Briny Deep said. "Calm down. What did you find out?"
"Something that'll get her in a lot of trouble." Green Locks said. "According to this, Starlight Glimmer is..."
She was interrupted by the bright light shining through the window. Green Locks and Briny Deep looked out and saw the light beam land outside of down. The impact was at the same time as when the floor she was on started to shake. As she wobbled around, she accidently dropped her file onto the catwalk above the chemical vats.
"NO!" Green Locks shouted. She jumped off and landed on the catwalk. She walked and approached the file.
"Dear, wait!" Briny Deep shouted.
"I can't!" Green Locks said. "I need to get my file back! It's my ticket to a well-deserved break!"
Green Locks reached down and grabbed the file. She cheered in celebration, but it didn't last long. The earth started to shake again.
"AFTERSHOCK!" Briny Deep shouted.
"WHOA!" Green Locks shouted. She kept wobbling over until she reached the end of the catwalk right above a chemical vat. She waved her arms, but she eventually tripped.
"NO!" Briny Deep shouted.
Green Locks saw her life flash before her very eyes before she dropped down screaming and splashed into the green gunk. Not long after, an electrical wire snapped and fell into the chemicals. There was no trace of Green Locks after the electric shocks dimmed down. Briny Deep collapsed to the floor all devastated.
"Green Locks." he mourned. "No."
All of a sudden, a pony body jumped out of the vat and hopped into the shadows dripping chemicals all over the floor. Briny Deep gasped and went down to approach her. As he crept in closer, the figure started to chuckle.
"Green Locks, is that you?" Briny Deep asked. "You seem... different. But I'm glad you're alive."
"Oh, I'm more than alive, sweetie." Green Locks said in a maniacal tone. Suddenly, the silhouette of her mane started to extend to look like tentacles. There were dozens of tendrils. "I FEEL BETTER THAN EVER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!"