• Published 21st May 2012
  • 4,727 Views, 410 Comments

Mantles - Ponky



Studying in Canterlot, Apple Bloom dons a mask of her youth to counter the city's rising crime.

  • ...
6
 410
 4,727

16 - How We May Spur One Another

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HOW WE MAY SPUR ONE ANOTHER

Silver Medal had never been so aware of his wings. He pressed them into his sides and pattered his forehooves, darting his eyes left and right along the platform. He had never ridden a train in his life, and the number of ponies waiting for the early eastbound train, though less than he had imagined, was nevertheless overwhelming.

Very few of them were pegasi. A winged couple passed him on the platform. Like him, they each toted a suitcase, though his bag was dramatically smaller.

Having grown up in Cloudsdale, standing in the midst of a hundred grounded ponies felt strange on its own. But another, far more distressing feeling made him extra conscious of his feathered appendages.

A stallion galloped through the crowd at full speed. “Excuse me, please! I’m gonna miss my train!” he shouted.

Silver Medal turned toward the sound. The stallion barreled right at him; without thinking, Silver Medal opened his wings in an effort to flap upward and avoid a collision. The stallion tried to swerve around Silver, but his steps were too quick and he ended up running into the front of Silver’s extended wing.

“Nooo!” Silver Medal screamed and pulled his wings in tight. “Oh Moon above, I’m so sorry! Are you all right!?”

The stallion stumbled a bit and stared at him warily. “Uh… yeah, I’m fine,” he said.

Ponies all over the platform gave Silver equally quizzical looks.

The stallion, confused, continued to gallop toward his train in silence. Silver Medal sat on his haunches, breathing hard. He shut his eyes and tried to slow his racing heart and ignore the bewildered ponies wondering at his outburst.

“Hey, you doin’ okay there?” asked a sweet, southern voice.

Silver looked up. A yellow earth pony with a bright red mane and amber eyes smiled at him, holding out a hoof.

“Y’look tired. Wake up early?”

Silver took her hoof and stood to all four legs, relaxing his wings a bit. “Uhh... yeah, yeah,” he said, chuckling. “I’m just tired. Antsy.”

“That’s all right, I getcha.” The mare rested a hoof on the small suitcase beside her. “I grew up on a farm. Some mornin’s I was so out of it, I thought the snort of a pig was the barn fallin’ down.”

Silver Medal laughed. “Right, yeah. It’s weird, uh… being tired.” He cleared his throat. “I’m Silver Medal, by the way. This is my… well, my first long train ride.”

“Oh, yeah? Where ya headed?” asked the mare.

“Manehattan,” he said, nodding with high eyebrows. “Yeah. First time there, too.”

“Well, whattaya know. I’m Manehatten-bound, too!” she said. “Name’s Apple Bloom. Nice t’meetcha!”

Silver Medal looked her over quickly. “Yeah, thanks. Likewise.” He squinted. “Do we… Have we met before?”

She creased her brow. “I don’t think so. Do you go to school in Canterlot?”

“Oh, no,” he said. “I’m from Cloudsdale. This is the closest station, and… it’s too far to fly, so… I’m guessing you’ve never been to Cloudsdale, right? It’s just, something about you is really familiar.”

Apple Bloom chuckled adorably. “I get that a lot. Prob’ly my voice. Most ponies don’t meet many southerners, I guess. If they’ve met one, they think they’ve met ‘em all.”

Silver’s eyes widened. “Oh, gosh, I didn’t mean to—”

“Oh, hush.” Apple Bloom waved her hoof. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it and neither did you.”

“Heh… right.” Silver Medal blushed. “You’re right, yeah. Now that I think about it, it is something about your voice that’s familiar. Heh, funny. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.” Apple Bloom’s words were punctuated with the screech of a train whistle.

“Six o’clock eastbound, ends in Manehattan!” yelled a conductor from the window of the train pulling up to the platform.

“This is us!” Apple Bloom said. “You can stick with me, if you wanna. I been on so many trains, it’s hard to count.”

Silver nodded and picked up his bag. “Sure, I’ll stick with you. Thanks.”

Between the train stopping and the ponies clambering to board it, the station became too noisy to continue conversation. Silver Medal followed Apple Bloom onto the train amidst a tight crowd. She trotted confidently to a car near the engine and found a seat next to a window. She made eye contact with him and patted the space next to her.

Silver smiled and took the seat, tucking his bag under the bench. “Better get comfortable, I guess,” he said. “Long trip.”

“You got that right.” Apple Bloom smiled.

Silver felt a flutter in his stomach looking at her gleaming teeth and scrunched up cheeks. He looked at the ground and cleared his throat again. “Sorry,” he said, “I’m not usually… er, I’m usually good at talking.” He made a face at his own words. “What? I mean—I’m tired and stuff, so… sorry that I’m not, uh…”

Apple Bloom laughed heartily. “Hey, calm down. Not everypony’s a mornin’ pony. I won’t judge you fer nothin’.”

Silver rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s exactly the thing. I am a morning pony, and I’m not actually very tired. I’m just rambling. I’m usually, I dunno, funnier and more charming than this.”

“Are ya, now?” Apple Bloom asked with one eyebrow raised.

“No, I mean… ugh.” Silver dragged a hoof over his face. “Never mind. Thanks for helping me out there, after I freaked out. I’ve been a little jittery lately when it comes to my wings.”

“Oh, I’m sorry ‘bout that. I can’t even imagine what it’s like, so… ‘scuse me if I’m not much comfort.”

“Ha! Eh, that’s fine.” He shook out his wings a bit and took a deep breath. “Also you’re pretty, so my tongue’s a bit tied.”

Apple Bloom’s face fell. She looked out the window.

Silver Medal bit his lip. “Sorry, was that too forward? I’m no good at this stuff.”

In her reflection, Silver saw a sad sort of smile grace Apple Bloom’s mouth. “No, it’s fine,” she said in a quieter voice. “You can say what you want. Nopony’s told me that in a while, is all.”

“Maybe they should,” Silver Medal said.

The train lurched forward. The car was nearly full and everypony took their seats as the train picked up speed spiraling around Canterlot Mountain.

Silver chuckled. “I hope I didn’t just make our whole trip unbearably awkward.”

Apple Bloom looked at him with a bigger smile. “No, you didn’t, I promise. I was just thinkin’ about somepony. Didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

Silver just nodded, and Apple Bloom watched the world rotate through the window.

(/\/\)

“So you live in Canterlot, huh?” Silver Medal asked.

Apple Bloom nodded. “Sure do.”

“Always, or?”

“No, I’m just a student,” she said.

“Of art?” Silver asked, pointing at her Cutie Mark.

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah. Been studying for a few years now,” she lied.

“What do you think of Mare Do Well?” he asked.

Apple Bloom’s stomach flipped. She looked out the window again. “Uhh… I don’t know, don’t think about her much, I guess.”

“Really?” Silver Medal’s face was splashed with disbelief and pain. “No way, that can’t be true.”

“She’s changin’ things, which is good, I guess.”

“Good? Oh, Apple Bloom, Mare Do Well is the best! I know some ponies are against her, but I don’t even care, I’m loud and proud about it.” He nodded to himself. “I’m Mare Do Well’s number one fan.”

Apple Bloom couldn’t help herself. “How can you like somepony you don’t even know?”

She watched Silver Medal out of the corner of her eye and tried not to laugh at his cocky expression. “Eh, well, you might be surprised.”

“What, have you met her or somethin’?”

“Yeeeah, you could say that.” Silver stuck his tongue into his cheek and pretended to glance down the train car’s empty aisle.

“Hmm.” Apple Bloom smirked. “Well, I’m sure she’s not all that impressive.”

Silver guffawed. “Oh, she’s… she’s impressive.”

His demeanor changed—melted—as he continued to talk. Apple Bloom felt something like horror brewing in her gut.

“You’re right, of course, that I don’t really know her, but… gosh, there’s something special about her. Something fierce and real and determined. Somehow, despite the mask, she’s the most honest pony I’ve ever met. She makes me feel… I don’t know, alive? That sound corny, I know, but it’s true.”

Apple Bloom’s cheeks were tingling. “She ain’t honest,” she said under her breath.

Silver bounced his head left and right. “Well, yeah, I mean… she feels real. She doesn’t mess around.” He ran a hoof through his mane. “Whew. All I know is I love her.”

A rock dropped from Apple Bloom’s throat and smashed open her stomach.

“You don’t mean that,” she said, grimacing.

“No, really,” he said, nodding. “It’s weird, right? Like, I have no idea what she looks like, but that doesn’t matter. She’s super attractive and—”

Apple Bloom held up a hoof to stop him. “I don’t need to hear this.”

“No, seriously, listen!” He swiveled toward her. “I haven’t told anypony this, but I’ve had it on my mind forever. I called you cute, right? I do that kind of stuff all the time. I like mares, what can I say? But with Mare Do Well, it’s like… wow, she’s just so amazing. I don’t know what her face looks like or what color her eyes are, but who cares? Even if she’s not the hottest mare on the planet under her costume, I’ve gotten to know her before I know what she looks like, and I freaking love who she is.”

“She’s just actin’. You realize that, right?” Apple Bloom’s eyes were hot. “You have no idea what she’s really like. She’s just pretendin’ to be tough and mysterious.”

“But she’s dang good at it,” Silver Medal said, grinning. “That says something all on its own. I don’t know, there’s something about her that you just can’t fake.”

Apple Bloom stared out the window, scowling.

Silver Medal chuckled. “Whoops. Did I strike a bad chord? Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“S’fine. Whatever.” She sighed. “I’m just… tired.”

“Right.” Silver grinned and stood up to stretch. “I’m gonna go find some snacks. I’ve heard one of these train cars is loaded.”

Apple Bloom said nothing. Silver trotted off, and out of the corner of her eye his graham colored coat seemed to turn a light shade of green…

Apple Bloom growled and shut her eyes, leaning her head against the glass windowpane. Silver’s confessions were unintentional, but they stung as much as Harper’s had. She hadn’t meant to draw anything like that from him. Would she be able to conveniently ignore his feelings when they were fighting side by side in costume?

She had planned on revealing her identity before they reached Manehattan. It only seemed fair, since she already knew that he was Rainbow Dash’s little brother. But now? What was she supposed to do? Revealing her identity might be misconstrued as reciprocation. Silver Medal was right about one thing: he was quite funny and clever, but enjoying his company was not the same as feeling attracted to him.

Worst of all, no matter how hard she tried to stay rooted, Apple Bloom’s thoughts kept branching to Harper. What might have been between them if tragedy hadn’t struck? What would she have decided about his declarations of love? How would their relationship have blossomed, just two artsy college students braving a new world together?

Such thoughts were as painful as they were pointless. Harper was gone. He was a dear friend, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling something more. There was no reason to dwell on what may or may not have been. All she could do was try and avoid any outcome even remotely similar with Silver Medal.

For now, Mare Do Well would remain mysterious. And who knew? Maybe in Manehattan, Razorwing would discover a thing for zebras.

(/\/\)

Apple Bloom leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Gravity had a hard time pulling her down. The streets of Canterlot were hundreds of miles below, buzzing with life. Its ponies were happy. They kept hugging each other.

Apple Bloom tried to talk to Lyra, but her hat was missing. She reached up and touched her face while floating between two buildings. Her mask was missing, too. She swore and kicked at the air, hiding her face with her forehooves.

Her hind hoof made contact with the sky. It shattered into enormous shards of glass which fell slowly to the city below. Apple Bloom gasped and tried to shout warnings to the ponies far below.

They could hear her. They wouldn’t stop hugging each other, smiling widely.

All of their eyes were pink and blue.

They were singing songs, eating cake, giving balloons to each other.

But the cake had drugs in it! Apple Bloom ran down the side of a building at the same speed as the falling shards of sky, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Pinkie Pie and Joe Cossitee were dancing together in the street. They finally heard Apple Bloom’s warnings and looked up.

They froze, terrified by the gigantic, sharp glass rushing toward them.

Pinkie tried to fly away, but it was too late.

“Apple Bloom!”

She jolted awake with a squeak in her throat.

Silver Medal shook her shoulder. “Apple Bloom!” he said again. “You’ve gotta get out of here, now!”

Her eyebrows drew together. “I was dreamin’…” she mumbled.

“I wish I could say you still are,” Silver said. His nervous eyes darted to the window. “Quick, wake up! You have to run!”

Her brain kicked into gear all at once and Apple Bloom bolted upright. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The train stopped, we’re evacuating,” Silver Medal said, pulling at her foreleg. “Something bad is happening in Manehattan. They want everyone off the train now.”

“Where are we?” Apple Bloom checked out the window.

“Somewhere between Phillydelphia and Manehattan,” he said.

They were the last ponies in their train car. Once Apple Bloom snatched up her travel bag, they hurried together to an exit and joined a swarm of grumpy ponies standing on the side of the tracks in the middle of nowhere.

“What’s going on?” somepony shouted.

“What’s wrong with Manehattan?”

A red pegasus whistled above the crowd and got everypony’s attention before shouting, “The Spur is back! He’s hypnotized half the city! Get as far away as you can!”

Screams and worry erupted among the ponies. Many of them began to gallop back along the train tracks. The pegasus messenger joined them, headed for Phillydelphia or whatever town was closest.

Apple Bloom watched them run. She jumped a bit when Silver Medal put a forehoof around her neck and spoke into her ear over the noisy chaos around them.

“Go on with the rest of them,” he said. “You’ll be safe, I promise.” He flapped above the crowd toward the front of the train.

“Hey!” Apple Bloom yelled. “Where are you goin’?”

“I… I have to get to Manehattan!” he called back. “Good luck! Stay safe!”

In a blur of gold and periwinkle, he shot off into the distance, following the train tracks to the big city. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Oh, horseapples…” she said under her breath.

Ponies hurried past her as more and more decided to turn back on hoof. She got back into the empty train and racked her brain. “Okay, okay, okay…” she said to herself, thinking hard. “Maybe the conductor will take me the rest of the way if I ask.”

She sprinted as fast as she could to the engine, but it too had been abandoned. She shouted angrily and kicked the wall. Ponies with swirls for eyes filled her imagination, burning down skyscrapers as a maniacal wizard cackled above them in a storm of black clouds. Shaking the image out of her head, Apple Bloom ripped open her travel bag and removed the costume.

“Maybe Mare Do Well will know what to do,” she said, and suited up.

(/\/\)

Silver Medal flew high above the city. Ponies were fleeing in droves by wing, hoof, and carriage. Yet a much larger group, packed as tightly as bees in a hive, pranced goofily in the block around Manehattan’s tallest structure, the Royal State Building. Something about their mindless, jerking movements made Silver sick to his stomach.

“Where is this coming from?” he asked himself. He scanned the outer tiers of the Royal State Building but saw nothing suspicious.

“Darn it…” he said, looking over the rest of the city. “Where am I going to find this Spritemare? Or Mare Do Well, for that matter.”

He bit his lip and dove to a rooftop in a strikingly empty section of the city just beyond the swarm of hypnotized ponies. Finding a large exhaust vent to hide inside, Silver Medal quickly donned his shiny armor. It clicked easily over his chest, back, and legs. The chain link sheath slid smoothly over his tail. He set his helmet aside for a moment and held the bladed wing sections in his hooves.

The long, jointed razors looked sharper than usual. He gulped and very gently rubbed the flat of his hoof along one of them. The metal was cold and buzzed lightly at his touch.

“I can do this,” he said, fitting the weapons over his wings. “I am in control. It wasn’t my fault.” He shivered and tightened every piece of his armor before sliding on his helmet. “I’ve done this a million times. Nothing has changed.”

He left the empty suitcase in the vent and rocketed into the sky. Tilting hard to the left, Razorwing dove into the streets of Manehattan and flew over the innumerable ponies dancing stupidly. Their eyes were wide and empty.

“What the heck is wrong with all of you?” he shouted. “Are you trying to, like, break the record for biggest flash mob in Equestrian history? Because first of all, it looks terrible, and second, flash mobs are way out of style.”

Suddenly, a strange clinking noise, like the jingle of muted bells, filled the inside of his mind.

“Whoa,” he said, and shook his head to get rid of the noise. But was it a noise? It seemed to be bypassing his ears, vibrating directly into his mind.

“Oh Luna, I’m gonna barf…” he moaned, squeezing his temples under the helmet. “Hey! Knock it off, whoever’s doing that! I’m… I’mmmmeeeuuughh…”

His wings flapped slower and slower, lowering his body closer to the crowd. The ponies below reached for his dangling hind legs, eager to pull him into their mass.

From around a corner of the Royal State Building, a winged zebra in a red mask tore through the air on rapidly buzzing wings and grabbed Razorwing under his forearms. The drooling ponies below jumped onto each others shoulders and pushed bodies around them to form a tall wave. It chased the flying heroes for only a moment before crashing back into its sea.

Spritemare carried Razorwing far from the city’s center. As the noises in his head diminished, Razorwing slowly regained consciousness.

“Wyyeeh!” he shouted, swishing his sheathed tail around. “Hey! Lemme go! Let me go, get off me!”

“Calm down, jeez!” Spritemare yelled, dropping him onto an angled rooftop. “I’m saving your butt.”

“Whoa!” Razorwing tumbled a few times on the sloped roof and steadied himself at its edge. “Huh? Who are you?”

She landed and spread out her four translucent wings. “Spritemare,” she said. “You must be Razorwing.”

He beamed. “Yeah! That’s right! Awesome, good to meet you. Sorry for, uh, freaking out back there.” He reached up and adjusted his helmet.

“You were under his spell, but only for a moment,” Spritemare said. “It doesn’t affect me for some reason. Probably because of… well, everything that’s happened to me.” She buzzed the larger of her wings.

“Yeah, how did that happen?” Razorwing asked. “Are those real?”

“They are, but we don’t have time to talk origin stories,” Spritemare quipped. “Where’s Mare Do Well?”

“Yeah, great question.” Razorwing took to the sky and spun around. “I haven’t seen her, to be honest. She told me last night that she’d find me in Manehattan, but that was it.”

“Probably scoping out the situation from the shadows,” Spritemare said.

Razorwing could hear the smile under her mask. “Right?” he said enthusiastically. “Augh, Mare Do Well is so awesome. I bet she’s waiting for just the right moment to swoop in and—pow, blam, boom!” He punched the air with his forehooves.

“Or maybe she’s waiting until the cover of night,” Spritemare said, crouching on the edge of the roof, “and she’ll dive from the highest point of the Royal State Building and take out the Spur in one punch!”

“Yeah!” Razorwing threw a hoof above his head. “That would be awesome! Where is the Spur, by the way?”

“He’s inside the Royal State Building, ground floor. He’s got ponies hypnotized all through the entire thing. I can’t find a way in.”

“What’s the plan, then?”

“All I know is that if we can knock him out, the spell breaks,” said Spritemare. “It worked last time, anyway.”

“What is he trying to do?”

“I don’t know… last time he was ranting about taking everypony away from Equestria, away from Princess Sparkle.” Spritemare took off. “We’d better find Mare Do Well. I’m sure she’ll know what to do.”

“Yeah, definitely.” Razorwing joined her in the air. “You know this place better than me. Where should we check first?”

“Let’s start at the train station,” said Spritemare.

“I was just there and I didn’t see her,” Razorwing said. “Besides, trains are stopped. They got word of what’s happening and nothing’s coming to the end of the line.”

“Shoot!”

They flew together above the city. Spritemare pointed to the edge of the city where the train tracks snaked into the distance.

“If the trains are stopped, what do you call that?”

Razorwing followed her gaze. A lone train engine, disconnected from any cars behind it, bolted along the tracks. Smoke spewed from its stack and sparks danced outward from its blurry wheels.

“I’m guessing that’s her dramatic entrance!” Razorwing exclaimed. “Let’s go!”

They dove closer to the train station. The speeding train didn’t slow down as it approached the Manehattan station. Spritemare and Razorwing stopped simultaneously and slowly floated upward.

“Uh oh…” Spritemare said.

“The city’s evacuated, right?” Razorwing’s voice cracked.

Like a big, clumsy dog tripping into a cornfield, the locomotive hit the end of the tracks at terrific speeds and launched through several buildings at the edge of Manehattan, spraying bricks, wood, and sparks in all directions. It broke through a number of walls and tipped over after several consecutive collisions with lampposts and parked carriages. It skidded to a stop in the middle of a wide, empty street, wheels spinning slowly in place.

Razorwing and Spritemare were at the scene in an instant. “Mare Do Well!” Razorwing screamed, throwing open the sky-facing door of the engine. “Mare Do Well, are you okay?”

Spritemare dropped through the door. “There’s nopony in here!” she said.

“Then what was—” At the familiar whipping of fabric, Razorwing looked down the street through the wreckage. Gliding several feet above the ground, Mare Do Well soared to the fallen train down the middle of the road. She let go of her cloak and landed hard on the ground by the unpinned coupler at the engine’s rear. The severe eyes of her mask peered at Razorwing from under the brim of her hat.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said.

(/\/\)

“Well, that was a bit excessive,” said Lyra.

“Wow.” Spritemare stared in awe. “You’re really her.”

“Ooo, who’s this?” Lyra asked as Mare Do Well focused on the hovering zebra. “A pro wrestler with an insect gimmick?”

“Spritemare,” greeted Mare Do Well. “I hope we’re not too late.”

“So do I,” Spritemare said. “The Spur has been hiding in the Royal State Building for two days. He got everypony inside the building right away, and his influence has been spreading ever since. Now he’s surrounded by legions of hypnotized ponies. I couldn’t get through to him.”

“We don’t know his motives yet. Might be directed at the Princess herself,” Razorwing added.

“How is he doing this?” Mare Do Well asked Spritemare.

“He has… something on his hooves,” she said, tapping the back of one hind leg with the other. “Little metal circles. They’re kinda spiky.”

“Hmm.” Mare Do Well tugged at the brim of her hat.

“On it,” said Lyra. “I’ll let you know when I’m back.”

Mare Do Well nodded. “Anything else you can tell me?”

“To make this stop, all we need to do is take him out,” Spritemare said.

Knock him out,” Razorwing said quickly. “Right? The ponies go free if he’s unconscious?”

Spritemare tilted her head at him. “Yes. At least, that’s what happened last time. All I did was hit him in the head really hard. He was down for maybe ten seconds, but it was enough for the spell to wear off. He got away.”

“How?” asked Mare Do Well.

“Huh?”

Mare Do Well pointed at the zebra’s buzzing wings. “You can fly, he was momentarily incapacitated. What happened, how did he get away? Is he a pegasus?”

“No, he’s an earth pony. I was… also incapacitated.” She landed by Razorwing and turned around, displaying the scabby stub where her tail used to be.

“Whoa!” Razorwing stepped back. “Did the Spur do that?”

“The hypnotized ponies held me down. He used one of the circles on his hooves to… to cut off my tail.” She hid the scar, embarrassed, and looked at Mare Do Well. “He’s dangerous and insane. We need to stop this as soon as we can.”

Razorwing lifted a hoof. “Oh! Also, she isn’t affected by the, uh… whatever it is he’s doing. But I am. I flew too close and started losing my mind.”

“What do you mean?” Mare Do Well asked.

“I don’t know, some kind of bell sound in my head. Like, not in my ears, directly in my head. Does that make sense?”

“Very much so,” Mare Do Well said. “Interesting. I want to know if it affects me, too. How close do we need to get, Spritemare?”

“The Royal State Building is that way,” she said, pointing. “I’ll lead the way.”

“Razorwing, get me to that roof,” Mare Do Well said, gazing up at the tallest building in their vicinity.

Razorwing wrapped his hooves around Mare Do Well from behind and carried her up. For a brief moment, she worried he might misinterpret the request as a desire to be closer, to be held by him. Such thoughts were dashed when he spat loudly.

“Plah, bleh! Why is your collar so freaking long?”

He set her down on the rooftop and rubbed his lips. “Tickly…” he complained.

Spritemare joined them. “Ready?” she asked.

Mare Do Well crouched. “Lead the way. Stay low.”

Spritemare dove. Mare Do Well jumped, holding the ends of her cape to glide after the masked zebra. Razorwing took the rear. Mare Do Well was suddenly conscious of how tightly her suit gripped her flanks.

The normally bustling streets were eerily empty and quiet. When Spritemare landed in the middle of a crosswalk, Mare Do Well could faintly hear the open-throated hollers and noisy hooves of the hypnotized crowd.

“We’re just a few blocks away now,” Spritemare said. “How do you feel?”

Mare Do Well and Razorwing looked at each other.

“Fine,” Razorwing said, shrugging.

“Let’s get closer on hoof.”

Spritemare led the way around abandoned carriages. “Let me know if you start—”

There it is!” Razorwing yelled, pushing himself several yards backward with his wings. “I started to hear it.”

Spritemare rushed toward Mare Do Well. “Get back!”

“Wait!” Mare Do Well held up a hoof and listened. Nothing unusual reached her ears, let alone her brain. She grabbed the top of her hat and lifted it. A peculiar ringing entered her skull immediately. She pushed the hat harder onto her head. “I’m safe,” she said. “My hat is enchanted. I can’t hear it while it’s on.”

“Are you serious? That’s awesome!” Razorwing shouted from down the street with his hooves cupped around his mouth. “How’d you get your hat enchanted?”

“Better question, how are we going to get you in the fight?” Mare Do Well yelled back.

Razorwing slumped. “Oh, crap. Uhh…”

“What if you cover your ears?” yelled Spritemare.

Carefully, Razorwing lifted his wings and used them to block sound around his helmet. His trot forward was hesitant and short; soon he leapt backward, shaking his head vigorously. “Nope, nope, nope! Doesn’t help!”

“Stay on the perimeter, then,” Mare Do Well shouted, “and stay high. We won’t let him escape this time.”

“Awwww!” Razorwing huffed before he took to the air. “Fine! Don’t do anything too cool without me!”

He soared higher. Mare Do Well gave a sharp nod to Spritemare and they galloped onward side by side.

“Here, let’s get a better view,” Spritemare said, reaching to scoop up Mare Do Well as Razorwing had.

“I got this one,” Mare Do Well said. She ran full speed at the brick wall ahead of them. Her wrapped up hooves hit the surface and she scrambled to the ledge above a display window. Spritemare gawked as Mare Do Well utilized her strength, throwing her body from one improvised hoofhold to the next until she pulled herself onto the roof.

Spritemare laughed. She buzzed behind Mare Do Well and watched her jump from roof to roof, occasionally looking up to focus on the spire of the nearby Royal State Building. Within minutes, they were overlooking the crowd.

“It’s gotten bigger,” Spritemare said. “Look how far it goes down that street.”

“Let’s not forget these are ponies,” Mare Do Well said. “They’re not the enemy here.”

“That’s very true, but they’re still dangerous.” Spritemare grimaced. “They’ll fight for him, and what they lack in strength or skill is made up in numbers and disregard for personal safety.”

Mare Do Well nodded. “Good to know. Where’s the Spur?”

“He’s got to be on the ground floor. Most of the hypnotized ponies inside the building are packed into the lower levels. The top’s nearly empty.”

“A living barricade.” Mare Do Well sighed. “What is he doing in there? What’s the plan?”

Spritemare shook her head. “I have no idea. All I heard him say last time was that ponies deserved to be taken away from this country, like they’re all suffering here. He said he had a boat ready for them, I think.”

“Hmm. Let’s wait here a moment. I’m waiting for more information.”

Spritemare gave her a sideways glance. “More information? From where?”

Mare Do Well pulled at the brim of her hat. “This thing isn’t just a fashion statement.”

Moments later, Lyra shouted “Got it!” into Mare Do Well’s brain. “Funny, the little metal things on this hooves? Yeah, they’re actually called spurs, believe it or not. Pretty easy to find. They’re a very ancient, frankly disgusting device earth ponies used to ‘encourage’ each other to work the land when it started getting cold.” Mare Do Well heard Lyra tap on the pages of a book. “There’s a goofy diagram here. They’d sit a smaller pony, with spurs strapped to his hooves, on top of a big one pulling a plow, and when the big pony slowed down the small one would kick him in the ribs!” Lyra guffawed. “Barbaric.”

“Were they magic?” Mare Do Well asked softly.

“Uhhh… no, totally an earth pony thing. Although, it’s not ridiculous to think that a unicorn heard about the idea and put their own spin on things. Whatever he’s using might be very old.”

A massive flash of light startled Spritemare and Mare Do Well.

“Jeez! What the hay was that?” asked Lyra.

“Where did that come from?” Mare Do Well asked Spritemare.

“The unicorns!” Spritemare pointed at the crowd below. “Look!”

The horns of every unicorn in the Spur’s mindless crowd were glowing brightly. Sparks of magic rose in quick wisps, joining into thicker streams above their heads and coalescing at the spire of the Royal State Building high overhead.

“What the…”

The spire began to vibrate visibly. A strange ringing emitted from it in steady pulses.

“Sweet Celestia!” Lyra said. “He’s using it like an amplifier!”

“He’s trying to send it farther,” Mare Do Well murmured. “Hypnotize the whole country…”

“We need to get in there!” Spritemare said. “Mare Do Well, what do we do?”

“Follow me,” said Mare Do Well, “and get ready to fight.”

Together they jumped, together they soared toward the base of the Royal State Building. The crowd made no reaction to their presence at first. Mare Do Well pulled tighter at her cape and leaned into the glide, trying to gain speed.

Unicorn magic swirled around their bodies. The spire high above glowed orange like melting metal, vibrating louder every second. The Royal State Building was only a few hundred feet away, the heroes closing in—

The wide-eyed ponies pushed and balanced over one another with astounding speed, forming a wall in front of the fliers. Spritemare’s wings kicked into another gear and she shot directly upward.

“Look out!” cried Lyra.

Mare Do Well tried to swerve around the wall of ponies, but her cape lost its lift and she fell into the fray.

“Go, go!” she shouted at Spritemare as the ponies pulled her into their mass. A mound of them piled on top of Mare Do Well, crushing her lungs under the weight. She struggled to breathe, kicking up desperately.

“Apple Bloom!” yelled Lyra. “Get them off, get them off!”

Mare Do Well’s vision began to blur. There were hooves everywhere, but the most painful pressure came from her neck, ribs, and ankles.

All at once, the ponies were ripped from her body like gum from a sidewalk. She vacuumed in two lung fulls of air and rolled onto her hooves. As her vision came back, she stared in disbelief at the five insect-winged zebras carrying away several ponies each.

“Is this real or did I pass out and start dreaming?” Mare Do Well asked aloud.

“I’m still here, but I can’t say with confidence that answers your question,” said Lyra. “Where did they come from?”

Something grabbed Mare Do Well from behind. She tried to hit them in the face with the back of her hoof, but her punch was blocked.

“It’s me!” said Spritemare. “I’m getting you out of here!”

Mare Do Well let Spritemare carry her above the mass. It was clear how much stronger than Razorwing she was by the way she effortlessly tucked the ends of her hooves under Mare Do Well’s forelegs. The higher they climbed, the better Mare Do Well could see the five other zebras—exactly identical to Spritemare, down to the missing tail—fighting down aggressive ponies in the crowd.

“What are you?” Mare Do Well yelled. The noise of the crowd and the increasing volume of the spire made it hard to hear otherwise.

“Part parasprite,” she answered. “More than just the wings.”

Mare Do Well tensed. “You… spit those things out of your mouth?”

“What? No, gross! Is that how parasprites do it? I just have to… think about it, and they appear and disappear.”

“Holy crap!” said Lyra.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” asked Mare Do Well.

Spritemare shrugged. “It’s weird and a little embarrassing. I haven’t told anyone.”

“I’m honored,” Mare Do Well quipped. “You have super strength, too?”

Spritemare flexed, lifting Mare Do Well up and down like a dumbbell. “Um… I guess so.”

“Good, new plan. Throw me,” she said, pointing to the huge front doors of the Royal State Building below. “As hard as you can. I’ll be all right. Then use your clones over there to keep them away from me until I get in.”

“But there are ponies on the inside, too.”

“Then make more of you!”

“I can’t!” Spritemare shook her head. “Five is the most I’ve ever done, and I didn’t even know if it would work! Usually I just do two or three.”

“If you can go from two to five, you can go from five to ten.” Mare Do Well tried to look over her shoulder at Spritemare. “It’s ten now, or ten thousand when the Spur hypnotizes all of Equestria.”

“Uhh, Apple Bloom?” Lyra said. “I’m starting to hear something weird….”

“Now, Spritemare!” Mare Do Well shouted. “Do it now! There’s no time!”

“Aaugh!” Spritemare spun around twice and threw Mare Do Well at the building’s entrance as hard as she could. Ponies from the crowd rose up in columns and tried to grab Mare Do Well, but her projection was far too fast. She spread out her cloak at the last moment and bucked the glass doors. They broke… and a wave of mindless ponies spewed into the streets as though Mare Do Well had opened a faucet.

She braced herself, but body after limp body knocked her off her balance and she was swept up in the flow within seconds. Somepony grabbed her cape and pulled her down into the depths of the hypnotized pony sea. Her hat was lost in the chaos, and Lyra’s screams gave way to a peculiar, rhythmic ringing noise. Black rings appeared around her vision and her hooves began to twitch in sync with the jingling.

Then somepony pushed her hat onto her head and the droning sounds suddenly stopped. She kicked and fought against the squirming crowd around her before noticing that most of them had stripes.

Ten Spritemares zipped, dove, and flipped around each other, throwing ponies aside and making a path for Mare Do Well and the Spritemare standing next to her with one hoof holding down the hat on Mare Do Well’s head.

“You can let go now,” Mare Do Well said, adjusting the brim. “Is this the real you, or…?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m me,” Spritemare nodded. Her voice was weak. “Let’s go, I can’t keep this up for much longer.”

They galloped through the parted sea and into the building. The ten zebras followed, fighting off and tackling hoards of wide-eyed ponies lurching to stop the two advancing heroes.

“Are you controlling all of them?” Mare Do Well asked.

“Kind of?” Spritemare flinched. “Ah! I-I’m sorry, I really can’t explain it!”

“That’s fine, just keep running!” She looked ahead and shouted, “There he is!”

A stallion with a bandana around his neck was dancing on a large front desk. Metal circles attached to each of his hooves were glowing orange like the Royal State Building’s spire. His face was awash with terror as Mare Do Well and Spritemares barreled straight toward him. He danced faster, sweat dripping down his face, and then finally screamed and collapsed into a quivering ball.

Neither Mare Do Well nor Spritemare were ready to risk a trap. They jumped onto the desk and worked together to incapacitate the stallion: Mare Do Well held him around the neck while Spritemare and two of her doppelgangers ripped the spurs from his ankles and threw them clattering to the ground.

For a moment—a very long moment—the city fell completely silent.

}{S}{M}{

Even on the rooftop, Spritemare could barely hear herself shout over the celebratory roar of the Manehattan crowds below.

“Do they always react like this?” she yelled close to Mare Do Well’s ear. Beneath her mask, she was beaming.

Razorwing laughed. “When they see us, they do! But we’ve never seen anything like this!”

Mare Do Well watched over the edge of the building. The crowds were free again, their eyes full of life and mirth. Their cheers were deafening, and while almost all eyes were pointed at Spritemare and the heroes of Canterlot, Spritemare noticed Mare Do Well watching the Manehattan police force throwing the Spur into the back of a metal carriage and sealing his four metal circles in a magically unbreakable box.

“I can’t thank you enough for coming to help,” Spritemare yelled. “I couldn’t have done it alone. We just saved Equestria!”

“Maybe,” said Mare Do Well. “He doesn’t seem all too dangerous. He just got a hold of something powerful.”

“I’d say those are the most dangerous,” Spritemare said. “It doesn’t matter. We stopped him, and that’s that.”

You stopped him,” Mare Do Well said. She finally turned in Spritemare’s direction. “You were amazing down there. I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re using it for good. Thank you.”

Spritemare was speechless. She laughed. “It’s—ha! It’s nothing, really. Er, thanks.” She cleared her throat. “If you ever need my help in Canterlot, just get word to me. I’ll come right away.”

Mare Do Well nodded. “I’m sure we’ll take you up on that. There’s a gang run by a griffon that works between Canterlot and Cloudsdale. Not much I can do for a city in the sky, but you two will be invaluable.”

“Just let me know,” Spritemare said. She looked down at the surging crowd. “We should probably go before they send some pegasi up here to nab us.”

“Great to meet you, Spritemare!” Razorwing said. He saluted. “I’m sure we’ll see you soon!”

Spritemare jumped high into the air and buzzed away to a far corner of the city. The crowd erupted anew with delighted cheers. By the time she looked over her shoulder at the rooftop, Razorwing and Mare Do Well were gone.